Power of Culture Blog
2024 Cultural Asset Inventory Reveals Key Insights
New data quantifies size, scope, economic impact - and needs - of individual generators and cultural organizations statewide
Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director
The 2024 Cultural Asset Inventory sheds light on the work ahead
Artists and cultural organizations fuel our economy, communities, and identities as a vital health and human service—yet too many are barely getting by.
Today Mass Cultural Council released the 2024 Massachusetts Cultural Asset Inventory. This comprehensive project, developed in collaboration with Diversity North Group, identifies and documents thousands of cultural organizations, programs, and individuals contributing to the state’s vibrant cultural landscape.
The Cultural Asset Inventory provides a wealth of information that will be instrumental in informing future cultural policies, programs, and initiatives. Its key findings are outlined in the Agency’s press release and detailed in a Summary Report, and County Fact Sheets.
This Inventory is a wake-up call. Mass Cultural Council and our partners in state government must act to advance and embrace bold policy solutions. The sector must rethink its models and practices. Arts education institutions must equip students with essential business skills. Consumers must turn love into advocacy. The private sector must invest and insist on integrating the creative economy as a driver of innovation and growth. Without this work, Massachusetts risks losing its competitive edge and unique identity. Who is ready to roll up their sleeves?
The arts have always been a force for transformation. Now is the time to step fully into our power—to advocate, innovate, forge new partnerships, and redefine sustainability for our sector. But we must also confront hard truths. We have contributed to our own financial instability by clinging to outdated models, undervaluing labor, isolating ourselves from other industries, treating low business acumen as a norm, relying on fragile funding structures, looking on others to solve our problems, and failing to organize around advocacy with the urgency and strategy of other sectors. Together, it’s time to shift our mindset, put the oxygen mask on ourselves first, and design bold, lasting solutions that ensure our survival, prosperity, and a redefined value proposition for the Commonwealth.
As creatives, we do the impossible every day—stepping onto a stage, bringing ideas to life, and uniting people through storytelling and expression. If we channel that same courage, creativity, and problem-solving ability into reimagining our sector, we CAN break free from the cycle of financial uncertainty. If we fully invest in our collective impact, we won’t just sustain the arts—we will build something stronger, more equitable, and more powerful than ever before. The work continues, and so does our brilliance.
What work will you commit to today?
Let’s get to it.
