FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 19, 2007

Contact: Gregory Liakos, Communications Director 617-727-3668 x343

MCC SUMMER TOUR UPDATE

The Massachusetts Cultural Council wishes to thank all of those who participated in the first round of "MCC Summer Tour" forums with our new Executive Director, Anita Walker, and members of the agency's board and staff.

Your ideas and enthusiasm made for engaging and informative forums at the following venues: Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Plimoth Plantation, North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Newton Cultural Center, Boston's Museum of African American History, Worcester Art Museum, the Springfield Museums, Smith College Museum of Art in Northampton, and the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

MCC's Summer Tour will continue, with new dates planned for August and September:

Friday, Aug. 10 - 8 a.m.
seARTS
Gloucester City Hall
9 Dale Avenue
Gloucester

Thursday, Aug. 23 - 9 a.m.
Cherry & Webb Gallery
139 South Main Street
Fall River

Wednesday, Aug. 29 - 9 a.m.
Lawrence Cultural Alliance
60 Island Street
Lawrence

Friday, Sept. 14 - 10 a.m.
Highfield Hall
56 Highfield Drive
Falmouth

The following is a brief summary of the key themes that emerged in the first round of forums and some of the ways MCC is responding.

Support for Cultural Organizations
The need for greater levels of core operating support for non-profit cultural organizations was articulated at every forum. These funds are among the most difficult for organizations to raise, and have dwindled as a percentage of overall giving in recent years.

The MCC has been able to increase the size of its Organizational Support grants since 2004. But those grants are still below levels reached a decade ago, as we continue to climb back from the effects of the devastating budget cutbacks of 2002-2003. Increasing operating support will be a central element of our advocacy for the coming year.

On a related note, leaders of cultural organizations also requested more professional development and technical services from MCC in areas such as fundraising, strategic planning, and marketing. This year we are engaged in this work on several fronts. This fall top leaders of 22 Massachusetts cultural organizations will complete an intensive, yearlong executive leadership program at the Hauser Center at Harvard University's JFK School of Government. The program, entitled Achieving Excellence, seeks to strengthen the state’s creative sector by fostering more effective organizations delivering public programs in the arts, humanities, and sciences. MCC is also partnering with The Boston Foundation and Wallace Foundation to increase local participation in the arts and promote the effective exchange of knowledge about expanding audiences. Last year, Wallace made Excellence Awards to seven leading arts and cultural organizations in Boston. This fall we are extending this Participation Learning Network Initiative to up to fifteen additional nonprofits working to foster arts engagement. See this link for more information (link).

We will also continue to offer programs like the Increasing Cultural Participation seminars and Strategic Planning workshops as often as possible. Keep an eye on our web site for upcoming dates.

Ongoing Funding for Facilities
Cultural leaders in each of the forums reiterated that there is a tremendous backlog of demand for public funding for cultural facilities. This was manifested in the $80 million worth of grant requests we received in the first year of the Cultural Facilities Fund, which the MCC administers in partnership with the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency. The recently approved state budget appropriated $5 million for the Cultural Facilities Fund, adding to last year's pool of $13 million. (See press release.) We know this is truly just the start in our effort to address this need. So we will continue to work with MAASH, the Boston Foundation, and our advocates across the state to secure ongoing support for the Cultural Facilities Fund as we move into a new state budget year.

Support for Artists
Artists in every discipline must work hard to find support--not only financial, but also in building visibility, finding opportunities for professional development, and developing spaces in which to live and work. Artists are the backbone of our creative economy and central to the health of the cultural sector.

Last year the MCC was able to raise its Artist Fellowships to $7,500. Local Cultural Councils, which also support individual artists, also saw their budgets rise slightly last year. We plan to advocate strongly for additional funds for these grants in the coming year so we can reach more artists in all disciplines. But we know that there are far more artists deserving of support than we can fund. So we will also continue to work closely with other agencies in state government and organizations like ArtistLink, a program MCC co-founded, to help address live/work space, health care, and other issues of concern to artists. And we will continue to create opportunities for artists to showcase their work with online tools such as MatchBook.org in partnership with New England Foundation for the Arts, and through exhibitions, readings and other public programs. And we will share news on funding sources and other means of support through Artist News emails and other channels.

Education Advocacy
The forums made clear that the cultural community wants its voice heard in the debate over education reform. Whether it's the Department of Education's proposed MassCore high school curriculum, or the search for a new state Commissioner of Education, arts and cultural leaders have much to contribute to the discussion over the future of education in our state--both in school and out of school.

First, we want to make sure the arts, humanities, and sciences are not squeezed out of school curricula because of an undue emphasis on standardized testing. This is especially true of the arts, which are often among the first subjects cut when budgets are reduced and the time available for learning tightens.

Second, leaders of cultural organizations, local cultural councils, and artists want schools to see them as partners in the education and development of our state's young people. Our state boasts an array of outstanding cultural resources that provide innumerable opportunities for learning. If schools and cultural institutions are given the resources to build meaningful partnerships, our children will benefit immeasurably and our state's long-term economic prospects will improve.

We will keep you updated on the MassCore debate, Commissioner search, and other education-related topics such as the Governor's education reform plan, in the months to come. Look for updates from MAASH and MCC's Education News.

Need for Collaboration
In many forums, participants expressed a desire to find more effective means of collaborating with their peers within their community and beyond. Whether it's through programming, marketing, or fundraising, cultural leaders and individual artists are seeking ways to do their work better by pooling resources and ideas. Part of the challenge in some cases is identifying issues of common concern, such as signage, identifying new philanthropists, or even reaching understanding of a local or regional identity.

MCC's Adams Program has helped foster much effective local and regional collaboration among organizations, and between the cultural and business communities, to foster growth in the creative economy. Descriptions of those programs, which may spark ideas for your community are available online. This past year MCC also invested in our Regional Tourism Councils with grants designed to help them engaged more effectively with the cultural organizations in their regions.

On the education front, our Creative Schools program is designed to foster collaborations between cultural organizations and schools, while YouthReach grants often involve community-based organizations working together to provide quality arts experiences for adolescents beyond school hours.

MCC staff in any of these areas can help identify potential partners, sources of information, and grant opportunities available to meet an organization's needs.