Breaking Down Barriers Coordinator Christopher Robinson provides ASL interpretation of the feel of the music as Boston Landmarks Orchestra performs.
Since 2021, with the launch of our first-ever Racial Equity Plan (and subsequent equity plans), Mass Cultural Council has been working on internal and external steps we can take to support and encourage an anti-racist, equitable, and inclusive cultural sector in the Commonwealth. As part of our equity work, the Agency has committed to sharing our progress on this work regularly:
NEW EQUITY PLAN IMPLEMENTATION
Guided by the d/Deaf and Disability Equity Plan, we have contracted with a Screen Reader User Expert to test the accessibility changes in the code of HireCulture.org, to our creative employment website.
SECTOR EDUCATION, SERVICES & ACHIEVEMENT
The first public review of the Agency’s d/Deaf and Disability Equity Plan was a Zoom webinar on October 15 with Darian Gambrell and Nayo Franck from DEAF, Inc. unpacking the distinction of Deaf culture and the condition of deafness.
We continue to share updates on the blog that amplify the Agency’s ongoing equity efforts:
Our FY25 grant review processes will continue to implement Equity Impact Points (as described in each program’s specific guidelines) as part of the funding formula calculation, which will increase grant amounts for organizations in or representing communities that have frequently been disadvantaged in access to philanthropic support. We will also support BIPOC-Centered Organizations (this is a self-identification for organizations that are BIPOC led and/or run, and whose primary mission, programming, and/or practices explicitly and specifically reflect and serve one or more communities that self-identify as BIPOC).
Additional types of prioritization factors applied to FY25 grant applications could include:
First-time applicants or applicants that have not received funding from Mass Cultural Council in the last three fiscal years.
Applicants/projects located in cities and towns that Mass Cultural Council has defined as “under-resourced communities.”
Festivals, projects, or activities that align with the Agency’s values of public service and inclusion.
In addition to folding equity and access into all the Agency’s grant programs, this fall the Council approved funding for two additional grants that promote equity, inclusion, and access:
Organization
Initiative
Grant
ArtsBoston
Network for Arts Administrators of Color (NAAC)
$50,000
Open Door Arts
Arts and Culture Accessibility Resource Hub
$100,000
INTERNAL
Through our collaboration El Planeta we have effectively promoted each of the Agency’s FY25 grant opportunities to Spanish-speaking audiences across Massachusetts, broadening our reach to new potential grantees.
As the Artists Department collected applications for the Grants for Creative Individuals program, we supported Spanish-speaking applicants by providing Spanish-language materials, answering questions, facilitating access to the application, and ensuring they can submit applications on time in their preferred language.
