CREATIVES AT WORK: JESSICA O’HEARN
“What I’ve learned most is how to connect the dots, how to take those big policy conversations at the state level and make them meaningful at the city and neighborhood level.”
THE PEOPLE SUPPORTING CREATIVITY IN OUR CITIES & TOWNS
Jessica O’Hearn is a cultural organizer and the Director of Mosaic Lowell.
Mosaic Lowell is a cultural economy plan for the City of Lowell that’s tasked with enlivening all of the City’s neighborhoods as places to live, work, and visit; attracting new audiences for Lowell’s cultural, creative, and artistic organizations; building equity by elevating opportunities for all; raising new revenues for the City and creative enterprises through increased visitorship and by attracting new businesses; engaging youth with arts and culture; and positioning arts, culture, and the creative economy as core elements of the City of Lowell’s strategic master planning for the future. Under her leadership, Jes has connected efforts led by the arts community in Lowell to statewide advocacy efforts through her collaborations around Creative Sector Advocacy Week and the Creative Sector Summit.
Mosaic Lowell is also one of the organizations responsible for bringing the Artists Thrive Summit 2026 to Lowell from March 24th - March 26th, 2026. Learn more at:
We asked Jes to share about her experiences working with MASSCreative and why it’s important to link local organizing efforts to statewide arts advocacy initiatives.
An Interview with Jessica O’Hearn
What’s your history with MASSCreative?
Jes: I’ve followed MASSCreative’s work for a long time, but our connection really deepened over the past couple of years as Mosaic Lowell began taking a more active role in arts advocacy. We’ve used MASSCreative’s training, statewide calls, and policy resources to help shape how we talk about arts and culture here in Lowell. Their tools have been really helpful in bridging the gap between local organizing and statewide advocacy, and it’s inspired a lot of what we’re building through Mosaic’s own community conversations and roundtables.
What have you learned, or what skills have you gained, from participating in Creative Sector Day?
Jes: What I’ve learned most is how to connect the dots, how to take those big policy conversations at the state level and make them meaningful at the city and neighborhood level. MASSCreative has also given me practical tools for communicating with local leaders about the arts as an economic driver and a community need, not just a “nice to have.” I’ve learned how to start blending data and storytelling in a way that can engage artists and residents in seeing themselves as advocates too.
How are the skills, networks, experiences, or resources that you gained from these programs still supporting your advocacy and organizing?
Jes: They show up in our work all the time. When we hosted an Arts Advocacy Roundtable earlier this year, a lot of the structure was inspired by MASSCreative’s model for community-centered advocacy. The statewide network also continues to be a huge resource; it helps us align Lowell’s creative economy work with what’s happening across Massachusetts. It’s been great to feel part of a larger movement while keeping our focus rooted locally.
Jessica O’Hearn and Laura Tavares at the 2025 Creative Sector Summit in Northampton. Photography by Steph Craig Studios.
Where are you directing your advocacy and community organizing right now?
Jes: Right now, we’re focusing on two big areas.
First is public investment in the arts, both locally and statewide, helping people see that cultural funding is economic development.
And second is artist sustainability and civic engagement, helping artists see themselves as leaders in shaping community priorities and ensuring they have the tools they need to thrive in their practice. All of that connects directly to MASSCreative’s mission of empowering communities to advocate for the arts from the ground up.
Why is it important to support MASSCreative and arts advocacy?
Jes: MASSCreative gives us the collective voice we need. At the local level, we can pilot ideas and organize, but MASSCreative connects those local stories to the bigger picture, to state leaders and policy conversations that impact all of us. Supporting MASSCreative means making sure every community, not just the largest cities, has a seat at the table when it comes to cultural policy. They make it possible for local advocacy, like what we’re doing in Lowell, to add up to real statewide impact.
Find Jes at:
Instagram: @mosaiclowell
