Arts + Policy

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(...)

Haymarket art hauled off with no warning

Artist’s bronze ‘garbage’ sculptures removed amid roadwork

By Andy Metzger Haymarket, Mags Harries, MassDOT, public art, sculpture 0 Comments Oct 2, 2019

WITH NO NOTICE to the artist, a groundbreaking work of public art was ripped out of the ground in Boston’s Haymarket last Thursday and carted off. The art consists of bronze depictions of some of the castoff scraps from the city’s long-running pushcart marketplace – green beans, lettuce, newspapers. A contractor working on crosswalks for(...)

Barr donates $500,000 to MassDevelopment

Money goes for arts initiatives in Gateway Cities

By Bruce Mohl Arts and Culture 0 Comments Sep 24, 2019

THE BARR FOUNDATION on Tuesday donated $500,000 to MassDevelopment to augment the state agency’s arts-based programming in Gateway Cities. The money will be funneled into two pots. One pot of $285,000 will fund grants of $20,000 to $40,000 for projects that serve to promote local arts and infrastructure in districts within 16 Gateway Cities targeted(...)

Industry sets stage for film tax credit fight

Sunset for program looms on horizon

By Andy Metzger Film tax credit, New England Studios 0 Comments Sep 24, 2019

THE STATE’S CONTROVERSIAL film tax credit is due to expire on December 31, 2022, and that would mean curtains for several job-creating local businesses that have sprung up around the celluloid gravy train. The film tax credit debate should be interesting. It’s a maxim on Beacon Hill that it’s easier to block legislation from passing(...)

Orr statue now front and center at TD Garden

Monument of Bruins great moved to The Hub

By Andy Metzger Arts and Culture 0 Comments Sep 23, 2019

THE STATUE OF BRUINS GREAT Bobby Orr has a new home right in the middle of the new entrance to TD Garden dubbed The Hub. It’s a prominent spot for the sculpture of the defenseman depicted in mid-celebratory-dive after scoring the goal that clinched the Stanley Cup in 1970. The statue was moved on Sunday(...)

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(...)