COVID-19 has devastated the arts and cultural sector. No more gigs. No more plays. No more gallery showings. Still, as they usually do, artists are finding ways to make and share their art with the world.
LCCs approved grants this year for nearly 7,000 community-based projects in the arts, humanities, and sciences. Then COVID-19 hit.
Physically distancing ourselves from one another does not necessarily mean losing social connections. Rather, it gives us all an opportunity to think creatively about what we can do and how we can connect in different ways.
Examples of how LCCs have utilized grant receptions to strengthen relationships with their communities.
The Communities Team shared the power of culture and news of CultureRx with fellow state employees, elected officials, and policy-makers at Mass Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting & Trade Show.
Tips and stories for recruitment best practices from a few Local Cultural Councils across the Commonwealth.
Shuchita Rao is a long-time educator of Indian music and culture in the Greater Boston area and a grant recipient from the Sharon Cultural Council. We spoke with her about what it means to share her culture with the broader community.
Through our Community Initiative, Mass Cultural Council works to support all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. Over the last two years, our Cultural Compact pilot program supported a new and innovative approach to elevating arts and culture in communities.
Each spring, we encourage Local Cultural Councils (LCCs) to gather community input to better inform council priorities for each granting season. Input can be gathered from in-person conversations, public convenings, and/or through surveys. Collecting viewpoints from members of the community can help LCC members better understand the community’s needs, interests, and knowledge of local resources.
As Spring slowly inches across the Commonwealth, we’re reminded of all that the season evokes; hope, natural changes, and new growth. But for municipalities throughout Massachusetts the annual sentiment is more reminiscent to Leo Tolstoy’s words in Anna Karenina, “Spring is the time of plans and projects.” Nothing symbolizes this more than the creation, proposal, and adoption of a municipality’s annual budget.
Congratulations to Massachusetts' 329 Local Cultural Councils (LCCs) for awarding over 6,300 grants totaling almost $4M in fiscal year 2019!
Thanks to all who joined our 13 regional meetings across the state last summer, giving us an opportunity to talk about our strategic plan and Power of Culture messaging platform. Did you know that we’ve also created a messaging platform to help you make a compelling case for arts and culture in your community?
Local Cultural Councils Reimagine Their Role in Community-wide Planning
We conducted a series of 13 regional meetings across the state this summer as a follow up to the Mass Cultural Council Institute held in March 2018. The meetings gave us an opportunity to convene cities and towns by region to talk about our new strategic plan and Power of Culture messaging platform.
