Working to invest financial, programmatic, and informational resources equitably.
Mass Cultural Council announces that its Card to Culture program has surpassed one million admissions for low-income and working families to Massachusetts cultural organizations. (Image: Paul Taylor dancers Lisa Borres (right) and Austin Kelly (left) in Amy Hall Garner’s “Somewhere in the Middle”. Courtesy of Celebrity Series. Photo: Whitney Browne.)
Advancing Racial Equity & Disability Access through Inclusive Hiring in the Arts (Image: Mural in Lynn.)
A quarterly report on our anti-racism work, including internal and external steps we are taking. (Image: Time Flies Clock by Jocelyn Dana Thomas.)
Reflecting on a Year of More Equitable Grant-Making. (Image: Public Art Work by Tran Vu.)
The Universal Participation Initiative’s Innovation Fund awards 95 UP Designated Organizations $5,000 each to plan, implement, and evaluate accessible goods, services, programs, and policies. (Image: Still from a performance of Na Laga’at “Not by Bread Alone”)
Towards a Culture of Access: Findings from the Massachusetts Arts & Culture Access Survey, a new report from Open Door Arts (formerly VSA Massachusetts), supported in part by Mass Cultural Council, shares valuable information to better understand where the arts and culture sector in Massachusetts is regarding accessibility for people with disabilities, what’s getting in the way of progress, and what may help the sector move forward. (Image: Cover from the report.)
Applicant pool for Cultural Sector Recovery Grants shows increased reach (Image: Attendees networking at the Western Mass BIPOC Artist Salon & Resource Share on October 24, 2022.)
Mass Cultural Council Executive Director Michael J. Bobbitt was honored by MassOpera as the recipient of the 2022 Action Bearing Award, recognizing his advocacy and activism towards the development of a cultural sector that is more equitable, just, representative, and anti-racist. (Image: Award object from MassOpera.)
Our field’s highest honor for a state arts agency demonstrating innovative and exceptional efforts to support and advance DEI in its state (Image: Mass Cultural Council Executive Director Michael J. Bobbitt receives award with Deputy Director, Dave Slatery and Director of People and Culture, Cathy Cheng-Anderson.)
A quarterly report on our anti-racism work, including internal and external steps we are taking. (Image: Child participates in Brand Out with C1, an event hosted by Company One Theatre.)
Agency invests in NAACBoston’s Mentorship & Sponsorship Program 2.0 (Image: 2022 Mentorship & Sponsorship Program participants laughing.)
We are pleased to partner with the Co-Directors of Arts Connect International (ACI) on launching the Cultural Equity Learning Community 2.0 (CELC 2.0), an asynchronous anti-racism course, this summer. CELC 2.0 was developed by ACI to support our arts and culture ecosystem — and its leadership — in progressing equitable practices.
Mass Cultural Council is providing financial support for up to 1,000 Massachusetts artists and cultural sector leaders to attend this training series in FY23. (Image: graphic collage of the CELC educators.)
They received the ESC Nonprofit Impact Leadership Award for committing to advancing racial equity and increasing support for under-resourced organizations. (Image: Mass Cultural Council Chair Nina Fialkow, Mass Cultural Council Executive Director Michael J. Bobbitt, ESC President Julie Crockford, and Mass Cultural Council Vice-Chair Marc Carroll.)
A new round of LEAD and Innovation Fund grants to UP Designated Organizations awarded through the Universal Participation Initiative. (Image: Kinetic Light performance at Jacob’s Pillow in 2018. Photo: Hayim Heron.)
A quarterly report on our anti-racism work, including internal and external steps we are taking. (Image: ‘Wakpa’ Wheatpaste Mural at Tufts University Art Gallery. )
This legislatively-mandated, one-time relief program was established by the MA House Asian Caucus. (Image: Wah Lum Kung Fu & Tai Chi Academy in Malden.)
A quarterly report on our anti-racism work, including internal and external steps we are taking. (Image: Drawing class in an Armenian Museum gallery)
A quarterly report on our anti-racism work, including internal and external steps we are taking. (Image: Dot Art participant holding a rock painted with the words “You are beautiful as you are.”)
These four engagement enthusiasts are help the Agency form new relationships and surface unmet community needs. (Image (l-r): Tran Vu, Erika Slocumb, Erin Genia, and Ana Masacote )
Working closely with our Executive Director, this new team will work – internally and externally – to advance the Agency’s equity, access, and inclusion goals. (Image, left-right: Catherine Cheng-Anderson, Director of People & Culture; Charles G. Baldwin, Access & Inclusion Program Officer; Cheyenne Cohn-Postell, Equity & Inclusion Program Officer.)
With the release of our first-ever Racial Equity Plan, Mass Cultural Council commits to doing the ongoing and long-term work of being both a racially equitable and anti-racist Agency. (Image: Racial Equity Plan cover, featuring a still image from the film “Drip Like Coffee” by Anaiis Cisco, Mass Cultural Council 2021 Film & Video Finalist.)
The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies (NASAA) released In Pursuit of Equity: Four Case Studies of State Arts Agencies, a report that describes how state arts agencies in four states—California, Maryland, Massachusetts, and South Carolina—have integrated equity principles across multiple aspects of their work. (Image: Cover art for In Pursuit of Equity)
Mass Cultural Council invested $130K in nonprofit media outlets to spotlight cultural nonprofits dedicated to diversity, equity, and inclusion. (Image: Maria Mitchell in Terry Jenoure’s MY BRONX, commissioned and presented by Eggtooth Productions.)
Designed to help mitigate risk and inspire creative approaches to barrier removal, the Universal Participation Initiative’s Innovation Fund has awarded $3,000 grants to 27 UP Designated Organizations that fully embrace accessibility systems and ideals. (Image: Young person tie-dying as part of a Gnome Surf program.)
Bobbitt, currently the Artistic Director of the New Repertory Theatre in Watertown, MA, will officially join the Agency on February 1, 2021. (Image: Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo.)
A summary of what we heard at our Fall listening sessions.
Recent events fomented a growing movement for racial equity and justice. Mass Cultural Council took this moment in time to embark on a restart and refocus of our work as it relates to racial equity. (Image: Youth performing at an Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) event.)
