Creativity can help us feel more engaged with and connected to our communities; its expression is essential for healing on a collective scale.
Creatives in bustling cities and quiet towns in Massachusetts alike connect through local resources that support creative projects - this section of the site will serve as a directory of these resources for all creatives in that location.
The Artistry Across the Commonwealth
State House was the site of America's inaugural public art collection and now hosts over 300 works by leading artists. These artworks honor historical events as well as leaders who have had an impact on shaping the Commonwealth and our nation.
MASS MoCA, Clark Art Institute, and Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) possess some of the finest collections of sculpture in New England. These cultural treasures foster creativity while encouraging economic development in Berkshire County.
Creative Commonwealth partners understand the power of arts and culture can transform lives. That is why they strive hard to bring people and resources together to promote arts and culture for everyone in our state.
Creative Commonwealth leads this effort, supporting community foundations' work. Community foundations serve an essential function: they convene and empower various groups that make arts and culture possible in their localities, connecting and engaging new audiences, sharing knowledge and information, as well as providing critical infrastructure support.
Established in 1873, the Massachusetts School of Art ("MassArt") first opened as a public art college to address the 1870 "Drawing Act." This progressive legislation mandated that public schools include drawing instruction in their curriculums (hence its original name: normal school). Today, MassArt remains at the forefront of art education - providing instruction to future web designers, UX engineers, video game designers, fashion designers, and more.
Sarah "Val" Valente is a multidisciplinary artist utilizing her skills in project management, business operations, and community engagement to support local arts initiatives. Her artistic practice explores themes related to identity and sustainability often through collaborative processes. Sarah often collaborates with DYS Arts Initiative, providing participants access to diverse forms of art as well as opportunities for self-expression and personal growth.
NEFA and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council's Arts and Culture Department are joining forces to launch Making It Public: Public Art Training for Municipalities, a two-year cohort that offers training on best practices and methods for commissioning temporary public art in ways that promote equity and fairness during procurement processes.
Artists of Color
Massachusetts is a place rich with history and new possibilities, hosting significant acts of defiance against British rule and becoming the catalyst for American independence such as the Boston Tea Party. Additionally, cotton, silk, and textile production were developed here before manufacturing began flourishing following the War of 1812. As well as this, manufacturing and urbanization also began occurring rapidly following this conflict.
Massachusetts stands out as an epicenter for color art. Artists of this sort in Massachusetts bring an irrepressibly vibrant flair to their works that has an uplifting effect, providing insightful views into life around them.
Allegra Fletcher is one of these artists. As a singer-songwriter, writer, and creative director who works across various mediums, Allegra Fletcher is committed to justice and equity through her art - exploring colonial antiracist work in institutions - particularly churches.
Lourdes Morales has made an indelible mark on Texas through her art. Her pieces explore elements of abstraction, figuration, and surrealism as well as spiritual expression through spaces that respond to images that we carry with us every day.
She has joined the Assets for Artists Capacity-Building cohort and hopes to learn how to leverage public funding sources for her art practice and ensure its sustainability. Her ultimate aim is to create a sustainable business.
Kathleen Hamilton is another artist of color who created her work in Western Massachusetts. Her art draws upon traditions from indigenous world cultural groups as well as African art influences to produce works that draw both inspiration and techniques from glassmakers such as murrini cane work in her sculptures, as well as polymer clay called KDQ Cane for her polymer clay works.
Beyond these artists, many others are also contributing to the state's vibrant artistic expression. This can be partially attributed to recent injections into arts by organizations like the Boston Cultural Council and The Barr Foundation which invested over $5 million last year into local artists - funds that help supplement long-standing mechanisms supporting culture in Massachusetts.
Arts & Culture in BIPOC Communities
Artists and organizations throughout the Commonwealth are producing work that responds to local communities in which they operate. This work may take many forms depending on its audience's racial makeup; examples may include using public performative art to address systemic injustices or including indigenous languages and symbols in contemporary pieces; community engagement is paramount to their impact and purpose.
Dunamis Arts Organization in Somerville embodies this mission by serving as a hub for professional development, and consultation, and creating equitable pathways into leadership positions in cultural institutions that predominantly employ white staff members. Their goal is to empower folx through project-based learning opportunities and collaborative activities.
Additionally, they partner with community organizations to offer workshops, mentorships, and other skills-based opportunities for individuals. Their goal is to build their capacity for community building and leadership so as to increase participation and engagement with arts presenting/programming specifically among Black and Indigenous communities.
ValleyCreates in Western Massachusetts provides grant support for artists and arts organizations across Franklin, Hampden, and Hampshire counties. Alongside general funding, this year they collaborated with MassArt on a program called Radical Imagination for Racial Justice that redistributed $250,000 worth of funds specifically targeting projects that promote racial equity and social justice through arts projects.
This initiative marks a first for the country and was made possible through a partnership between the city and the local community foundation. They listened and learned from community members regarding how grantmaking should better address systemic inequities.
Although this initiative is an encouraging first step toward equitable grantmaking, there remain numerous hurdles when it comes to equitable grantmaking. One such challenge lies with BIPOC itself as it does not provide useful language to describe systemic oppression; instead, it deliberately centers two particular populations (Black and Indigenous) while leaving out non-white populations who do not fit this mold for other non-white people of color relegated to "people of color". By centering Black and Indigenous exclusively it perpetuates racist stereotypes while failing to capture all aspects of oppression experienced by racialized people experiencing it differently.
Arts & Culture in Western Mass
Western Massachusetts has long provided artists with inspiration. William Cullen Bryant wrote his "Ode to Aging" near a brook in Cummington; Herman Melville set his "Pierre" story against Deerfield's rugged mountains; while Tanglewood and Jacob's Pillow offer world-renowned music and dance enterprises. Additionally, Western Mass offers theaters, galleries, and museums that specialize in virtually every art form--painting, sculpting, book illustration--to showcase our region.
The cultural vibrancy of rural communities is an economic cornerstone, drawing tourists and supporting local businesses alike. Unfortunately, like much of New England, the region faces similar issues: small populations that tend to be predominantly white and aging; no alternative revenue sources other than agriculture and tourism; an inability to attract young people as those leaving or retiring; etc.
Hilltowns have taken steps to respond to these challenges by turning to arts and culture as a source of economic strength. One local museum, for instance, is developing an arts-based health initiative to improve diabetes care and treatment based on Obie Award-winning play Sugar, spearheaded by an artist based out of Boston in collaboration with regional hospitals.
As our towns and cities evolve economically, it's essential that we embrace the role arts and culture can play as a catalyst for positive change and innovation. Arts bring people together while inspiring creative solutions for some of the toughest community challenges.
To understand how the arts can serve as a vehicle for social change, we conducted a survey among residents, healthcare providers, and members of our arts and culture sector about strategies that might help build bridges between sectors that often operate independently. Our findings revealed that arts are particularly well-suited to facilitate this connectivity - but more investment must be put in this powerful force for good if it is going to remain effective. Want to stay informed? Subscribe to our Arts & Culture Newsletter now.
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