Greater Boston’s cultural community is challenged to support smaller organizations and community-based creative initiatives. Some organizations, such as Roxbury Cultural Network, Association for Boston Community Development and Hyde Square Task Force centralize resources and collaborative efforts across organizations and neighborhoods to bring cultural resources into communities. However, community advocates and cultural sector experts continue to call for increased collaboration among and support for smaller and newer community “grassroots” efforts as the number of organizations and their needs exceed available funds.
Total operating revenue among Boston’s large cultural institutions is stagnant or declining despite the recent rise in one-time donations from the philanthropic community. The success of seven-figure philanthropic drives and donations to places like the Museum of Science, the Museum of Fine Arts and the new Institute for Contemporary Art have stimulated excitement in Boston’s larger cultural institutions. However, operating revenue—a more sustainable form of funding—among all sizes of Boston’s institutions has generally stagnated and in many cases decreased in recent years.
Boston is challenged to make arts education an “across-the-board” priority. While the Boston Public Schools (BPS) has made the arts an educational priority in the last few years, movements to integrate arts curricula have been in snapshot situations or one-time collaborations. More and more, educational experts and economists are proving the importance of arts education: best-selling author Daniel Pink is calling the MFA the new MBA, because of the importance of the creative economy and local educators like Katherine Sloane, president of Mass Art, have pointed to the fact the MCAS scores are higher among schools with standard arts curriculum. While more than 25% of Boston Public School 9th graders will not finish high school, Artists for Humanity points to the fact that over the last 4 years all but 2 of about 400 their high school students participating in the arts has graduated and continued to higher education—a clear example of the impact that standard arts programming can have on the lives of Boston’s students.
High work and living costs in Boston opens the door for more affordable satellite cities to make the arts a community and economic priority by attracting Boston’s displaced artists and venues. As the creative sector has become more and more important to city and regional economies, nearby cities like Lowell, MA and Providence, RI are cashing in by attracting Boston’s displaced artist community.
- COOL, Cultural Organization Of Lowell, has been drawing largely on its heritage to attract a new, young creative population. Lowell has created live-work spaces well below the cost in Boston by using old mill buildings. Heritage museums such as the American Textile Museum and the New England Quilt Museum have sprung up as attractions in addition to more modern venues like the Revolving Museum. Additionally, the city is branding itself around its former creative inhabitants like Bette Davis and Jack Kerouac.
- Providence, RI is using many similar tactics including providing affordable live-work spaces, new vibrant restaurants and gathering spaces and the perennial attraction Water Fire. With the expansion of the Providence Economic Development Partnership, public/private sector collaboration for investment in the creative economy has also opened its doors to Hollywood—as well as new jobs and revenue sources—by creating tax incentives for film production in the city.
- Nearby Pawtucket, RI is attracting and supporting individual artists with affordable live/work artist space in addition to implementing revolutionary tax breaks to promote creative enterprises. Utilizing Rhode Island’s “arts-district tax laws,” which hold artists and galleries exempt from paying state tax on income that comes from selling their artwork, Pawtucket is experiencing an influx of galleries, exhibit spaces and individual artists.
- In New Bedford the Waterfront Historic Area League (WHALE) is investing in affordable housing and artist space to fill vacant and rundown industrial buildings and create a permanent community that has been drawn to the area by recent cultural revitalizations. The long-standing Zieterion Theater reopened its doors in 2006 following renovations, ArtWorks provides open and accessible artist exhibition space and AHA brings to the city annual open studios, weekly summer movie nights as well as community cultural forums and art exhibitions.
New collaborations, such as ArtistLink, are helping Boston’s art community find work and live spaces, provide health care, offer financial support and business planning in an effort to offset the draws of more affordable locations.
From Harvard Square to the Theater District to movie theaters, mainstream cultural offerings are subsuming what used to be distinct cultural districts and venues. On the other hand, Boston’s ethnic film festivals, revitalized theaters, new Institute of Contemporary Art and other new resources are providing a counterweight to this trend.
Boston’s cultural community is challenged to sustain interest in long-standing cultural traditions. Reinvestment in cultural facilities like the Boston Center for the Arts has stimulated a surge in audience participation in recent years. At the same time, however, Boston’s cultural community is challenged to support interest in long-standing traditions and museums such as the Boston Ballet, the Museum of Science and First Night—the nation’s First First Night—all of which have experienced a double-digit percent decline in attendance over the last few years.