Tours Bartlett Yard to Highlight Importance of Community Art Space
On Saturday, September 7, Mayoral candidate John Connolly toured Bartlett Yard in Roxbury to highlight the importance of space for artists and communities to come together, and to announce his agenda for enhancing the role of Arts & Culture in the civic and economic life of Boston.
Bartlett Yard is a former MBTA bus yard that has been turned into a temporary community art space. Connolly helped the organizers to obtain the necessary permits for the project.
“Bartlett Yard is a great success story of how the city, artists and communities can work together to create exciting and interactive art that adds to the cultural diversity of our city and improves the quality of life in our neighborhoods,” said Connolly. “The arts enrich our lives, spark our curiosity, bring us together, and make our city a more interesting, welcoming, and vibrant place to live, work and visit. We should be supporting arts for the social and economic value that they add to the city.”
Among other things, Connolly is calling for the creation of a cabinet-level Department of Arts & Culture (arts is currently part of the Office of Arts, Tourism and Special Events), for arts and music education for all Boston public school students, and for the development of live-work space for artists so that more artists can afford to live and work in the city.
Connolly’s Arts & Culture Agenda includes the following:
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Creating a cabinet-level Department of Arts & Culture;
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Providing arts and music education to all BPS students;
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Increasing direct funding and partnership support for Boston’s arts organizations;
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Supporting the development of live-work space for artists;
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Streamlining permitting to make it easier for events and pop-up galleries; and
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Supporting public art and world-class festivals.
Read more about Connolly's plan for Arts & Culture in Boston at http://www.connollyforboston.com/issues/arts-in-boston.
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