Arts + Policy

Juneteenth observances growing amid racial unrest

Companies giving day off; some propose official holiday

By Shira Schoenberg Current Affairs, Race 0 Comments Jun 18, 2020

WITH PROTESTS AGAINST racial inequities roiling the country, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday issued an executive order declaring Juneteenth a paid holiday for state employees this year. Juneteenth – June 19 – is the date in 1865 that Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, with the news that the Civil War had ended and the(...)

Art for everyone’s sake

Without financial relief, the arts will become inaccessible to all but a few

By Craig Coogan and Emily Ruddock 0 Comments Jun 17, 2020

DYSTOPIAN STORYTELLING IMAGINES time and place without light, color, and life—elements that art, music and performance provide. We’ve had a taste of it during these many weeks at home, and it’s changing the world around us. If we’re not careful, these changes could be with us long after the coronavirus is gone. The arts are(...)

Beheading of Columbus statue prompts discussion

Walsh putting six-foot figure in storage for now

By Sarah Betancourt Arts and Culture, Christopher Columbus, criminal justice, racial justice 0 Comments Jun 10, 2020

SOMEONE BEHEADED the statue of Christopher Columbus in the North End of Boston Tuesday night, prompting a discussion about what the piece of chiseled Tuscan marble symbolizes. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh condemned the act of vandalism, but said the statue and its head will be kept in storage for the time being. “Given the conversations(...)

We’ve got to have art

Our cultural organizations need us because we need them

By Smitty Pignatelli Arts and Culture, Berkshires, coronavirus, Economy 0 Comments Apr 29, 2020

THE IMPACT OF arts and cultural programs on our lives is not easily quantifiable. Whether we are in a museum, concert hall, or any other venue, enjoying art together is much more than a mere source of entertainment. It’s a way for us to collectively experience the human condition. The value that this brings to(...)

How do arts and culture come back?

It won’t be easy, and it will be expensive

By Anita Walker Arts and Culture 0 Comments Apr 28, 2020

SINCE GOV. CHARLIE BAKER’S first emergency order was issued and social distancing was implemented, many local news outlets have provided excellent and thorough coverage of the economic impacts of COVID-19 on cultural organizations in Massachusetts. Our own research at the Mass Cultural Council puts numbers behind the stories: more than $264 million in lost revenue and(...)

Aquarium, zoo, and museums appeal for federal aid

Ask delegation to press for huge bump in funding

By Bruce Mohl COVID-19 0 Comments Apr 14, 2020

TOP OFFICIALS at six of the Boston area’s top cultural attractions said on Tuesday that their survival and the survival of other institutions like them depends on a huge increase in federal aid to the nonprofit sector. In a letter to the Massachusetts congressional delegation, the leaders of the New England Aquarium, the Boston Children’s(...)

Museum of Fine Arts losses at $1.4m and growing

MassMOCA has laid off 122 of its 165-member staff

By Chris Lisinski Arts and Culture 0 Comments Apr 2, 2020

A MASSACHUSETTS ART MUSEUM laid off almost three-quarters of its staff. Another expects to face a budget deficit in the tens of millions of dollars. Leisure destinations that rely on warm-season surges are worried they may not begin to feel recovery until 2021. One after another, members of the state’s arts and tourism sector shared(...)

Keeping the faith in the coronavirus era

From online bedtime stories to check-ins with 500 seniors

By Michael Jonas coronavirus, Religion 0 Comments Mar 30, 2020

WHILE HEROIC HEALTH CARE PROVIDERS are on the front lines, putting themselves at risk as they care for patients being ravaged by the novel coronavirus, faith leaders and their congregations are playing an indispensable role providing spiritual healing and comfort, while also helping to care for the physical needs of many. The cruel irony of the(...)

Arts shutdown cost $58 million

8,000 Mass. cultural jobs affected by COVID-19

By Shira Schoenberg 0 Comments Mar 24, 2020

THE SHUTTERING OF the arts in Massachusetts due to COVID-19 has affected an estimated 8,000 jobs so far and cost arts-related nonprofits $55.7 million and individual artists $2.8 million, according to the results of a survey distributed by the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The data are sparking calls by arts advocates for more help from the(...)

When the show does not go on

The arts take a huge hit from coronavirus crisis

By Shira Schoenberg arts, coronavirus 0 Comments Mar 16, 2020

JADE SYLVAN, a graduate student at Harvard Divinity School, spent two years writing and producing a musical, “Beloved King,” a queer interpretation of the biblical story of King David. Sylvan was set to debut a semi-staged production last weekend with two sold-out performances at the Oberon, which is part of the Harvard-affiliated American Reperatory Theater(...)