Create the Vote 2017

Elections are a time for candidates and voters to discuss the strengths and challenges of our towns and cities. It is also the time where we as a society can openly debate our vision for our communities and think about what is possible.

While arts and culture play a role in our local economies, our educational systems, and in the vibrancy of our neighborhoods and downtowns, candidates often times do not include arts and culture as part of their platform or vision.

Seeing the need to make arts and culture part of the election debate and dialogue, MASSCreative has launched Create the Vote 2017, a nonpartisan public education campaign to raise awareness and support for arts, culture, and creative expression. With active Mayoral and City Council races in more than 40 cities across the Commonwealth, this non-partisan initiative will highlight the role that arts and culture play in educating our students, building vibrant neighborhoods, and strengthening local economies.

Visit the Create the Vote 2017 to see activities in your city.

“Create the Vote 2017 encourages candidates to develop dynamic cultural policies that support the arts and creative expression and integrate these programs into the thinking of city government. We are excited to work with arts leaders to engage candidates and voters in broad-based public education by holding public meetings and publicizing candidates’ answers to a questionnaire about the arts,” said MASSCreative Program Director Tracie Konopinski.

A recent analysis by the National League of Cities (NLC), shows that mayors across the country view arts and culture as an important economic driver that is worthy of investment. NLC’s 2017 State of the Cities report analyzes and catalogues the top issues articulated by U.S. mayors in their annual State of the City speeches. Predictably, economic development topped the list of the mayors’ priorities. Breaking down that issue, NLC noted that arts and culture was one of the top five economic subsets—along with job creation, business attraction, downtown development and employment—that mayors identified as important or of interest in the growth of their cities.

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