Arts + Policy

Hey, Beacon Hill, pay attention to the arts

Shortchanged for too long, we need a dedicated funding stream

By Emily Ruddock and Karen Ristuben Arts and Culture 0 Comments Nov 23, 2019

IN 1973, LED ZEPPELIN played to hordes of adoring fans at the Boston Garden on its blockbuster US tour, just over 80,000 people attended the MFA’s exhibit “Soviet Union: Arts and Crafts in Ancient Times,” and Massachusetts lawmakers established the Special Committee on the Arts to establish a model for arts funding at the local(...)

Film tax credit sunset looms

Rodrigues: ‘I still have concerns about the cost’

By Bruce Mohl Film tax credit, Massachusetts Legislature, Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Nov 11, 2019

THE CHAIR OF THE SENATE WAYS AND MEANS Committee sounds as if he is in no hurry to eliminate the sunset provision contained in the state’s film tax credit law. The tax credit, launched in 2006 and scheduled to sunset on December 31, 2022, has been the focus of a number of attempts to eliminate(...)

Aquarium not making in-lieu-of-tax cash payments to Boston

Says no other aquarium or zoo in the US makes such contributions

By Colman M. Herman Arts and Culture, Taxes and Budget Issues 0 Comments Nov 3, 2019

THE NEW ENGLAND AQUARIUM, suggesting nonprofit cultural institutions like itself are already contributing enough, says it won’t be making any in-lieu-of-tax cash payments to the city of Boston this fiscal year. In a letter to the city’s assessor, Eric Krauss, the aquarium’s executive vice president, said the nonprofit institution is an essential component of the(...)

DCR begins charging Community Boating rent

Starts at $5,000 a year, rises to $50,000 after 9 years

By Colman M. Herman Arts and Culture, State Government 0 Comments Oct 27, 2019

COMMUNITY BOATING INC., the nonprofit public sailing center located on the banks of the Charles River in Boston, is now paying rent to the state Department of Conservation and Recreation. The rental agreement represents the first time the sailing center has ever paid anything more than a token rent to the state agency that owns(...)

Artists, gallery owners debate rules of selling art

Provincetown Licensing Board gets an earful

By Nancy Ross Arts and Culture 0 Comments Oct 25, 2019

THE PROVINCETOWN LICENSING BOARD held a hearing this week on who should be able to sell art in town, and the panel got an earful from artists and gallery owners. About 75 people crammed into the town hall’s meeting room on Tuesday night to hear testimony on whether it’s fair that coffee shops, bars, restaurants,(...)

Provincetown gallery owners cry foul

Say other venues selling art not held to same standards

By Nancy Ross Arts and Culture 0 Comments Oct 21, 2019

Second in a series. To read the first installment, click here. PROVINCETOWN ART GALLERY owners are rising up to protest what they consider unfair competition from bars, restaurants, inns, coffee shops, and even lawyer’s offices and yoga studios that are selling paintings and other pieces of art as a sideline to their main business. The(...)

A side of art with your cup of joe

Coffee shop ‘galleries’ offer opportunity for artists, cool vibe for owners

By Sarah Betancourt Arts and Culture 0 Comments Oct 20, 2019

First of a series AT CORPORATE COFFEE SHOPS such as Starbucks or Caffe Nero, you’re not going to see much decor other than a few plastic plants or books. But many independent stores are selling art with their coffee, adding some eye-catching paintings to their walls and providing artists with badly needed exhibition space. Cambridge’s(...)

The art of family reunification

Pilot program uses art spaces for foster child meetings

By Andy Metzger Arts and creativity 0 Comments Oct 10, 2019

THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES and the Massachusetts Cultural Council – two agencies that would appear to have little in common – have launched a pilot program with the goal of using art to make supervised meetings between foster children and family members living in separate homes more enjoyable. The pilot grew out of(...)

Haymarket artwork mystery solved

Sculptures safely stored, dinged up a bit

By Andy Metzger Haymarket, Mags Harries, MassDOT, public art 0 Comments Oct 4, 2019

THE MYSTERY OF the missing public artwork at Haymarket is solved: It was dug up by a contractor, but it’s now safely stored nearby and state officials plan to contact the artist to determine what should be done with it. Mags Harries, the sculptor, was kept in the dark for more than a week after(...)

State agency offers $500,000 in place-making funds

MassDevelopment matching crowd-sourced money

By Bruce Mohl Arts and Culture 0 Comments Oct 3, 2019

MASSDEVELOPMENT IS OFFERING a total of $500,000 in matching grant money over the next 3 ½ months to municipalities and nonprofits seeking to launch creative place-making projects across the state. The money is part of a nearly four-year effort by the authority to revitalize downtowns and commercial districts by combining state and crowd-sourced funds. MassDevelopment(...)