BOSTON
- Friday, August 7, 2020 - Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Mayor's Office of
Arts and Culture today announced 145 arts and cultural organizations that
offer programming in the City of Boston have been awarded organizational
grants totaling $485,000 through the Boston Cultural Council. These funds
support innovative arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences programming
with the goal of enhancing the quality of life in the city.
"At
a time when statewide losses to arts and cultural institutions exceed $58
million due to the coronavirus pandemic, it's vital that we support Boston
organizations in every way we can," said Mayor Walsh. "These
organizations are anchors in our neighborhoods and communities, teaching
youth, supporting social resilience, and fostering community connections."
The
Boston
Cultural Council (BCC) works with the Mayor's Office of Arts and
Culture to annually distribute funds allocated by the City of Boston and
the Mass Cultural Council for local arts and culture programming. BCC
members are Boston residents appointed by Mayor Walsh, and serve for up to
two consecutive three year terms. Council members are selected on the basis
of their demonstrated commitment to Boston's cultural community and their
knowledge of various arts disciplines.
This
year, Mass Cultural Council contributed $236,400 and the City contributed
$300,000 for grants. The Boston Cultural Council received applications from
organizations across the entire city, representing a wide variety of
artistic disciplines. Here
is a complete list of the 2020 grantees.
The
City made several changes to the program last year to better support small-
to medium-sized organizations, the biggest grant given to nonprofit
organizations with budgets under $2 million. Grant amounts were also
determined by budget size, with organizations receiving between $2,000 and
$5,000.
Organizations
were evaluated on a series of criteria, including diversity of the
organization, service to historically underrepresented populations, benefit
to the public, and reflection of the goals and ideas of the Boston
Creates cultural plan.
For the second year in a row, three grantees received an additional
Modeling Equity Organization Award of $5,000, each for doing exceptional
equity work both internally within the organization and externally through
programming. The winners of the 2020 Modeling Equity Organization Award
were City Ballet of Boston, Pao
Arts Center and Company
One Theatre.
"Pao
Arts Center will use the Model Equity Organization prize for its
community-centered residencies which celebrate Asian Pacific Islander
perspectives and viewpoints and strengthen and support the creatives and
artists to create this work," said Cynthia Woo, Director of Pao Arts
Center.
Building
off of Mayor Walsh's record-breaking investment in Boston's arts sector,
the City of Boston is also investing $250,000 for the artist
residency program, as well as an additional $200,000 FY20 investment in
sustaining key grantmaking programs for individual artists. Over the next
five years, the City is also committing $13.4 million to the Percent
for Art program. This, combined with $80,000 for temporary public art
projects this fiscal year and several new City staff positions, is the most
funding the City has ever dedicated to Boston's arts sector.
To
better support arts organizations facing financial losses, canceled
programming, and closures caused by COVID-19, the City of Boston also
established a $1 million Arts
and Culture COVID-19 Fund. Grants of up to $10,000 were made available
for small and mid-sized arts and culture nonprofits to adapt their
programs, spaces, and operating models.
"It's
important for us to continue to support the sustainability or arts and
cultural organizations of all sizes in Boston, as they take the next steps
in reopening and adjusting their programming to allow for safe
participation from all residents," said Kara Elliott-Ortega, Chief of
Arts and Culture.
To
learn more about the Boston Cultural Council, visit here.
More COVID-19 Resources for Arts Organizations
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