“That’s My Fam Teen Poetry Slam!” at the 2023 Massachusetts Poetry Festival in Salem, MA. Several teams competed at Cinema Salem including teens from Mass Poetry’s SW@MP program (Spoken Word @ Mass Poetry) “Every space I walk into, I’m told I’m wrong. My body is wrong, my skin color is wrong. When I write poems, I’m alright.” – Middle school poet from East Boston at Mass Poetry spoken word event Mass Cultural Council’s YouthReach is the longest continually running support program for Creative Youth Development (CYD) work in the United States. Founded in 1994, the program has invested mo ..read more

Promenade by Boston Festival Orchestra. Photo: Robert Torres. A new cycle of the Gaming Mitigation Fund is now open. The Gaming Mitigation Fund – established under MGL chapter 23K, section 59 – provides grants to Massachusetts nonprofit and municipal performing arts centers to spend on touring shows or touring artist fees. These one-year grants are meant to help organizations increase their buying power when directly competing with resort casinos to book touring shows and artists. Over the three cycles of funding, $10,752,400 was awarded to more than 50 nonprofit and municipally-owned performi ..read more

Mass Cultural Council’s three-year CultureRx: Social Prescription Pilot program resulted in a deep understanding of successes, challenges, and the need for greater partnership to bring Arts on Prescription to our entire state. Listen to our recent panel on Health & Wellness through Creativity to hear more about the complexities and rewards of Arts on Prescription. Through our partnership with Art Pharmacy they are bringing their model of care – bridging the cultural, healthcare, and public health sectors – to the Commonwealth. Leveraging the practice of Arts on Prescription, they are ..read more

Group of young people visiting Old Sturbridge Village Each month Mass Cultural Council shares a round-up of grants, trainings, technical assistance resources, and opportunities for creative and cultural organizations. This list is not meant to be exhaustive but a glimpse of what is on offer in the coming weeks. (We also publish a weekly Artist Opportunities listing.) Funding Upcoming Mass Cultural Council grant opportunities: Grants for Creative Individuals aims to equitably advance creative expression throughout the Commonwealth with unrestricted grants to Massachusetts artists, culture bear ..read more

  Mariona Lloreta, a 2021 Mass Cultural Council grantee. Photo: Annielly Camargo. Mass Cultural Council believes that creativity is a vital part of a thriving society. We are proud to announce our new Grants for Creative Individuals program, which we hope will advance creativity throughout the Commonwealth. The program offers unrestricted, $5,000 grants to artists, culture bearers, and creative practitioners. We welcome applications from individuals in all creative fields: visual artists, literary artists, theater artists, performers, film/media artists, music artists, designers, culture ..read more

Hyannis HyArts Cultural District’s Love Local Fest During the 2023-2024 legislative session, Mass Cultural Council is proud to join partners like MassINC, MASSCreative, and the Massachusetts Association of Business Improvement Districts in support of H. 228/S. 130, An Act to promote downtown vitality, legislation sponsored by Rep. Cabral and Sen. Cronin. These proposals are currently pending review by the Joint Committee on Small Business and Community Development. Under the Joint Rules of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate, the Committee must schedule a public hearing and m ..read more

Award object for OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center’s Sojourner Truth Award Mass Cultural Council is delighted to announce that Executive Director Michael J. Bobbitt is the recipient of OrigiNation Cultural Arts Center’s Sojourner Truth Award. Michael was presented with the award on October 14 at OrigiNation’s annual celebration, Twist & Shout! An Evening of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word. The evening showcased the talents of several notable and emerging dance and spoken word artists, and recognized individuals and institutions making an impact at the intersection of arts, community, and yout ..read more

Artist painting during an AHA New Bedford 2nd Thursday event Mass Cultural Council envisions a diverse creative and cultural sector that is valued as essential in the Commonwealth. But what do employment opportunities in our sector really look like? Many of the artists, culture bearers, and creative individuals who make up the creative economy are gig workers, who move from job to job – even multiple, concurrent jobs – piecing together income along the way, often without the benefits or protections afforded in other kinds of employment. Join us for a discussion of what the gig economy means fo ..read more

People enjoying an outdoor musical performance at Featherstone Center for the Arts. Mass Cultural Council’s FY24-26 strategic plan directs the Agency to engage in advocacy on behalf of the Commonwealth’s creative and cultural sector. One way Mass Cultural Council fulfills this mandate is by building and maintaining relationships on Beacon Hill with the Healey-Driscoll Administration and members of the House of Representatives and Massachusetts Senate. Another is engaging in policy conversations occurring in the State House on matters relevant to the sector. To that end, Mass Cultural Council h ..read more

STARS Residencies support creative learning residencies of three days or more at Massachusetts K-12 schools in the arts, sciences, and humanities with teaching artists, scientists, or humanists. Any Massachusetts school serving grades K-12 is eligible to host one residency per school year. The STARS Residencies 2022-2023 cycle, totaled $1,428,100, and brought 186 artists, scientists, and humanists into 274 schools across Massachusetts. These cultural partners engaged with more than 30,000 students in creative learning during the 2022-2023 academic year. As schools and cultural partners prepar ..read more