Arts + Policy

Trying to add some her to history

Bill would create statewide women’s rights trail

By Sarah Betancourt Arts and Culture, Massachusetts Legislature 0 Comments Sep 18, 2019

HISTORY HAS ALWAYS BEEN a big draw in Massachusetts, but the focus has overwhelmingly been on men. The Granary Burying Ground on Boston’s Freedom Trail features the graves of John Hancock, Paul Revere, Samuel Adams and other luminaries of the American Revolution-era. Tales of Boston Tea party leaders and the Kennedy political dynasty tend to(...)

The Hub: An impressive front door to Garden, N. Station

Semi-public space provides a link to city’s sports past

By Andy Metzger Development, Urban Affairs 0 Comments Sep 17, 2019

NOT LONG AGO, attending a game at TD Garden or taking a train out of North Station meant you would need to come and go through a nondescript side door. There was no real front entrance, and little besides the sheer size of the two facilities to distinguish the sports arena and transit center from(...)

Mass Cultural Council weathers Boston Herald storm

Lawmakers boost agency’s funding with minimal restrictions

By Andy Metzger Anita Walker, Boston Herald, Cultural Council 0 Comments Jul 26, 2019

STATE BUDGET-WRITERS put a gloss of stringency on their handling of the Massachusetts Cultural Council budget, but ultimately imposed few real restrictions on how the council conducts itself aside from new reporting requirements that accompany a hefty raise. The biggest change would be a $2 million increase in the state’s appropriation for the quasi-independent arts(...)

In Holyoke, arts education takes front seat

Non-profit helps integrate creativity into the regular curriculum

By Sarah Betancourt Arts and Culture, CW in Depth, Elementary and Secondary Education 0 Comments Jul 14, 2019

SIX-YEAR-OLD JUAN patted an inflatable ball as he peered out of his blue-rimmed glasses. Which way to send the ball? What could he knock down? Juan was playing “human bowling” in Kat Lorenzi’s kindergarten class in Holyoke. The objective was to get the ball to bounce off a few of his classmates, and figure out(...)

Arts agency gets reined in by lawmakers – and a raise

Cultural Council sees funding boost, but new restrictions too

By Andy Metzger Anita Walker, Brad Hill, Donald Humason, Massachusetts Cultural Council 0 Comments Jun 30, 2019

NO STATE AGENCY has taken more of a pounding from the press this year over its spending practices than the Massachusetts Cultural Council, but the agency is poised to emerge from the Beacon Hill budget-writing process with its highest appropriation in years, even if that comes with some new restrictions on its spending. How that(...)

Students need new skillset – creativity

Needed to prepare students for an unknowable future

By Stanley Rosenberg and Dan Hunter Elementary and Secondary Education 0 Comments Jun 1, 2019

TODAY WE MUST educate children for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented. The tumultuous change on our planet, in our societies, and in our schools, presents a steep challenge to educators and legislators. How do we prepare our children for a world not yet imagined? What skills should schools teach(...)

Boston students get unfortunate education in racism

By CommonWealth Staff Boston, MFA, Racism, students, The Download 0 Comments May 23, 2019

Along with all the art on the walls, Boston seventh graders on a field trip to the Museum of Fine Arts last week saw some upsetting displays of modern-day racism. It was another shameful chapter in Boston’s long-running history of making black people feel unwelcome. The incident received a lot of press coverage, probably because(...)

Veep’s Massachusetts connection

Lesser tries to keep the HBO scripts real

By Sarah Betancourt Massachusetts politics, National Politics 0 Comments Apr 5, 2019

SEN. ERIC LESSER of Longmeadow knows what’s going to happen this season on Veep, but he’s keeping it to himself. Lesser has been working since 2011 as a consultant for the HBO political satire starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus as vice president turned train-wreck-in-chief. Even with a comedy, HBO wants to keep it real, and Lesser was(...)

Can private sector save the Mohawk?

North Adams mayor seeks ideas for reviving theater

By Bruce Mohl Growth and Development 0 Comments Apr 4, 2019

LIKE NORTH ADAMS, the community in which it is located, the Mohawk Theater has long been regarded as down and out. But as the town tries to reinvent itself as an arts and tourism destination, the marquee of the shuttered Mohawk, one of the last art-deco style movie houses in the nation, continuously beckons. The(...)

Creative economy losing some steam

Leadership, investment declining in Berkshire County, across state

By Julia Dixon Arts and creativity, Charlie Baker 0 Comments Mar 29, 2019

1BERKSHIRE, Berkshire County’s leading economic development organization, released a strategic report last month called The Berkshire Blueprint 2.0 that, on the surface, seems to provide helpful action steps for supporting the region’s vibrant creative economy. The report’s six “creative cluster” recommendations include collaborations, professional development, and communication tools that connect creative people to resources as(...)