Arts + Policy

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(...)

Arts should be core to education, not an optional add-on

Boston budget threatens vital programming

By Liz Byron arts curriculum, Boston public schools 0 Comments Mar 15, 2019

I’M EXCITED TO welcome more than 5,000 fellow arts educators from the National Art Education Association to Boston this weekend. At the same time, I’m worried about the state of the arts in our city. While Boston Public School officials tout the district’s “largest ever” budget, cuts to a number of city schools are in(...)

Arts internships coming for Boston students

Bloomberg grant brings initiative for summer positions for high school seniors

By Michael Jonas 0 Comments Mar 13, 2019

WHILE BOSTON HIGH SCHOOL students hear plenty of talk about opportunities in STEM fields, with good internships available that match them with employers in the region’s booming biomedical and tech industries, one important local sector – the arts — has long struggled to keep up when it comes to showcasing career pathways for young people.(...)

Mass. needs to step up for tourism and the arts

Investment is no-brainer; lack of predictable state support deplorable

By Martha J. Sheridan and Lee Pelton Arts and creativity, State Government 0 Comments Mar 10, 2019

MASSACHUSETTS’ DYNAMIC tourism industry and its arts and cultural assets are inextricably linked, collectively delivering extraordinary dividends to the state’s economic vitality and quality of life. Residents and visitors alike reap the benefits created by these sectors, and yet there is no predictable or dedicated financial support on the state and local level to ensure(...)

King’s English

The money man behind Boston’s forthcoming tribute to MLK

By Andy Metzger Coretta Scott King, CW in Depth, Marie St. Fleur, Martin Luther King Jr., Paul English 0 Comments Mar 5, 2019

PAUL ENGLISH DIDN’T invent the idea of building a monument in Boston to the foremost civil rights hero of the 20th century, but in the parlance of the high-tech world where English made his millions, he was the angel investor who helped launch it. There was untapped demand in Boston for a suitable tribute to(...)

‘The Embrace’ chosen as King monument on Common

Sculpture of arms embracing was most popular with public

By Andy Metzger Arts and Culture 0 Comments Mar 4, 2019

THE NONPROFIT KING BOSTON has selected a sculpture featuring two pairs of arms in an embrace as the winning design for a monument on Boston Common to Rev. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King, a couple who met in Boston in the 1950s and then nurtured a transformational civil rights movement. The art committee(...)

The healing power of art

Therapists who use creative outlets to help patients process trauma seek licensure

By Sarah Betancourt Arts and creativity, CW in Depth, Massachusetts Legislature 0 Comments Feb 28, 2019

THE YOUNG GIRL had endured bullying and been called ugly. She was told she had a unibrow by one of her male classmates. At her therapist’s office, she was “withdrawn and disengaged.” She refused to finish a self-portrait she had started the previous week, instead picking up another piece of paper and painting two eyes(...)

Public art stirs controversy in North Adams

It’s not about paint or policy; it’s about engagement

By Julia Dixon Arts and creativity 0 Comments Feb 10, 2019

PUBLIC ART HAS BEEN KNOWN to create controversy. Usually, the aesthetics or thematic content of the artwork is what generates backlash. Diego Rivera in Detroit, Richard Serra in New York City, Jeff Koons in Paris, and lesser-known artists in lesser-known cities have faced criticism from community members over artworks that are deemed offensive or inappropriate.(...)

Shaw 54th: A disruptive work of art

Even so, the famous memorial causes some uneasiness

By Bruce Mohl Arts and creativity 0 Comments Jan 17, 2019

AT A TIME when Civil War monuments across the country are coming under fire, the National Park Service, the city of Boston, and the Friends of the Public Garden are preparing to spend $2.8 million fixing up the Robert Gould Shaw and 54th Regiment Memorial on Boston Common. The memorial, facing Beacon Street across from(...)

Who should have final say on public art displays?

By Bruce Mohl Arts and creativity 0 Comments Dec 14, 2018

Julia Dixon, the chair of the Public Arts Commission in North Adams, resigned this week after the City Council once again failed to come to any agreement on whether the mayor or the commission should have the final sign off on public art displays. “Decisions about public art need to be made by those who understand it,(...)