Creativity is acknowledged as a fundamental aspect of human development. Today, it is also seen as a contributor to economic dynamism. And cities that recognize the central importance of cultural life and the arts are becoming the centers of the New Economy across the United States and around the globe.

Culture and economic growth are linked in the New Economy, according to Carnegie Mellon University Professor Richard Florida, because technological and economic creativity are nurtured by and interact with artistic and cultural creativity. His research shows that members of the “creative class” — people who innovate — tend to cluster in places that are ethnically diverse, intellectually dynamic, and open to new ideas. A city’s “creative climate,” as much as its “business climate,” drives the choices of knowledge workers and other young people — innovators who contribute disproportionately to economic growth.

OVERVIEW

Boston’s positive “creative climate” is supported by established cultural institutions as well as by its growing racial and ethnic diversity.  Its arts organizations, livable neighborhoods and vibrant street life also help to develop, retain and attract the creative young people needed to power the New Economy.

Boston’s cultural reach extends to literary journals such as Agni and Ploughshares, national magazines such as the Atlantic Monthly and The American Prospect, and the acclaimed public television station WGBH. It encompasses unique community-based programs — such as Zumix, Dot Art and the Boston Photo Collaborative — focused on youth development. It includes renowned cultural resources such as Boston’s interpretive science museums — the Boston Science Museum, the Boston Children’s Museum and the New England Aquarium, significant national historic resources such as the Freedom Trail, the African Meeting House, the Black Heritage Trail, and Boston History Collaborative, as well as world-class institutions such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Museum of Fine Arts. Bostonians also have innovated new institutions such as the widely imitated First Night celebration, new venues such as the Jorge Hernandez Cultural Center, showcasing Latino music and culture, and traditions such as the August Moon Festival, the Caribbean Festival and the Lantern Parade. It spans Boston’s thriving theater district, its ballet and opera companies, visual artists and filmmakers, and a vital music scene encompassing liturgical, gospel, classical, folk and world music as well as hip hop, blues, jazz and rock n’ roll.

With support, encouragement and assistance from the City of Boston, and especially its Office of Cultural Affairs, Bostonians also are creating new traditions — from neighborhood festivals and arts programs to publicly sponsored performances in the Boston’s parks and plazas.

The range and quality of Boston’s cultural resources enrich the life of the city and help to anchor tourism in Massachusetts — the Commonwealth’s third largest industry.

However, Boston’s very attractiveness is also putting at risk its cultural dynamism. Artists, graduating students, young families, newcomer immigrants and other contributors to Boston’s cultural life are finding it difficult to afford to stay.

And state and city budget cuts are affecting the city’s smaller arts organizations. Recent gains in the distribution and number of arts organizations and programs available to Boston residents — particularly children — may be lost.

WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE 2000?

In response to the economic downturn and declining state tax revenues, the budget of the Massachusetts Cultural Council was cut by 62% — the largest percentage cut to any program and the only state arts council to be cut. As a result, the budget of the City of Boston’s Office of Cultural Affairs and in turn the budgets of many cultural and arts organizations are being reduced – some to the point where their survival is in question.  The environment in which artists and arts organizations are working in Boston is changing quickly, prompting concern among participants, audiences, educators, and funders in light of the funding climate in the non-profit sector and a growing list of both cuts and unmet needs.

A Creative Economy Council was established to engage members of Boston and Massachusetts’ arts, business, healthcare, and academic sectors in support of Creative Cluster industries and organizations. The council’s goal is to promote sustainable economic development of the Creative Cluster and nurture a rich arts and cultural environment in New England, following up on recommendations made in a 2000 report sponsored by the New England Council, a business group, and many others.

Recent high-profile projects expanding Boston’s cultural and arts facilities broke a 40-year logjam. The Institute for Contemporary Art, Museum of Fine Arts, and the Children’s Museum are all planning to expand their facilities or build new ones. The ICA will locate an exciting new space designed by celebrity architects Diller + Scofidio on the Boston Harbor at Fan Pier. The Museum of Fine Arts is raising funds to support a master plan for the expansion and renovation of the museum by noted British architects Foster and Partners.  Phase 1 is slated to take five years and is the largest campaign ever undertaken by the Museum. The New England Aquarium completed a new West Wing in January, 1998, and opened an IMAX theater in 2001, which is boosting attendance, and the Boston Athenaeum has been renovated for the first time since 1914.  However, projects may be affected by the current economic downturn. For example, the planned ICA opening has been pushed back from 2004 to 2006, pending further development of the waterfront.

Boston’s Theater District is being revitalized and the number of Boston theaters is growing.  A worldwide entertainment conglomerate reached an agreement with the city to renovate and reopen the 2,800-seat Opera House, which will house performances on national tour. The historic Paramount and Modern theaters also are undergoing restoration. Finally, the Huntington Theatre Company will open two new spaces at the Boston Center for the Arts in the South End, adding 560 seats for a variety of performance groups that do not have access to space.

The Boston Open Studios Coalition grew as an organizational network for artists and clients. In 2002, artists in 12 neighborhoods showed and sold their work during the Boston Open Studios season — September through December. Open Studios artists are included in a special pullout section of the Boston Office of Cultural Affair’s Boston NOW publication, and are becoming a treasured annual tradition throughout the city.

Boston’s Parks Department, under the leadership of the late Commissioner Justine Liff, pioneered new forms of collaboration in the sponsorship of free, large-scale cultural productions in the city’s major parks. Despite Liff’s untimely death, the new tradition was firmly established. In the summer of 2002, the Boston Lyric Opera performed Bizet’s Carmen on the Boston Common before audiences exceeding 140,000 people. In 2000, the Boston Symphony Orchestra performed for families in Franklin Park with attendance reaching 8,000, and since 1996, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has consistently brought audiences of more than 40,000 people to summertime plays on the Common. In 2002, the Company also ran an internship program called “Tour of the Parks” which brought “Much Ado About Nothing” to seven Boston parks.

The city’s established cultural institutions are working to attract new and more diverse audiences.  In 2002, the Museum of Fine Arts appointed a Director of Diversity and Community Relations, and the Boston Athenaeum is offering memberships to Boston public and charter schools in an effort to further diversify its membership. The Boston Symphony Orchestra  (BSO) audiences have become increasingly diverse since 1998, with recent efforts resulting in a 2% uptick in attendance by African American, Asian, and Latino attendees.  Younger audiences also are being sought. The BSO has created a subscription program geared towards listeners under 35 years of age. For some time, the Boston Athenaeum has offered an “Associate Membership” at a reduced fee for members under 41 years of age. And the Museum of Fine Arts now hosts a first-Friday night cocktail hour geared toward younger professionals.

The Sports Museum of New England celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2002. Boston is internationally known for its professional sports teams. Since 1977, the Sports Museum of New England has provided a historic look at Boston and the region’s unique sports heritage.

CHALLENGES

With recent cuts in neighborhood and school arts programs, Boston’s children have less access to needed enrichment activities. Most of Boston’s children are concentrated in neighborhoods with few well-established arts and culture facilities. Recent budget cuts threaten to turn back recent gains in access to enriched in- and out-of-school programs For Boston’s schoolchildren —more than 70% of whom qualify for free or reduced price lunches, a measure of poverty – these programs represented opportunities for self-expression, confidence-building and academic advancement.  

Many of Boston’s most acclaimed performance groups lack sufficient performance space to meet demand. For example, neither the Boston Ballet nor the Boston Lyric Opera have an optimal venue for their types of performances. Many theater companies in the area do not have performance space and often compete with one another for booking time, a problem compounded by the university landlords of many larger spaces. Although new performance spaces are being built to address this demand, the need will not be fully alleviated.

A survey for the Boston Redevelopment Authority on the housing needs of Boston artists found the most pressing deficit in the US the consultants had ever seen. The study by Artspace, a national non-profit development and properties group for artists live/work space, found that in the past 30 years, only 300 permanent live/work units had been developed in Boston. The BRA plans to develop 300 more in two years. However, there is some controversy about the financial requirements for a Boston artist: current rental prices for these live/work units start at about $900, just slightly below market rent for a one-bedroom in the Boston area.

Culture and the arts in Boston must be the focus of research to document their multidimensional impact and value.  However, many organizations do not have the capacity to collect data, and data sharing among those that do is often hampered by incompatible systems. While the Boston Redevelopment Authority, the New England Foundation for the Arts, the New England Council, and the Boston Foundation have conducted excellent studies of the sector, ongoing research is necessary to monitor progress and change at all levels. Recent initiatives include Northeastern University’s regional database and yearly supplement, including a completed survey of artists’ workspace needs. In 2003, the Boston Foundation released a study, Funding for Cultural Organizations in Boston and Nine Other Metropolitan Areas, comparing data in ten urban areas, including Metro Boston.

Professional arts support organizations are feeling the funding pinch, making them less able to effectively serve their clients. Arts and cultural organizations cannot survive without support networks. Connections among organizations and consulting on issues of fundraising, space, staffing, access, board development, and business and legal issues are necessary to create smoothly run organizations with the ability to grow. Several service organizations tackle these issues in Boston, but they also have been affected by the current economic downturn. These include: Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities, (MAASH), working to educate the people of Massachusetts about the multifaceted benefits of the arts and humanities; Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts (VLA), providing pro bono legal assistance to arts and humanities organizations; and StageSource, providing leadership and resources for theater professionals in Greater Boston/New England.

INNOVATION

Boston leads in developing the first and only Cyberarts festival in the nation. The biennial Cyberarts festival presents art and technology in all media, offering unique experiences in the visual and performing arts. At least 55,000 people attended the 2001 festival in Boston which included exhibits by 75 artists and organizations from around Massachusetts and New England.

The Boston Modern Orchestra Project and CRASHArts are challenging traditional forms. Founded in 1996, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project showcases 20th and 21st century composers and actively commissions and records new work. CRASHArts, the avant-garde arm of World Music, presents contemporary music and dance for diverse audiences.

MYTOWN, Inc., an educational non-profit organization founded by two young African American women, promotes the process of sharing history through guided tours as an essential youth leadership development and community education strategy. MyTown offers tours guided by young people who have participated in historical research in the South End and Roxbury.

In the Near Future…
An Online Survey with Searchable Results of Greater Boston’s Cultural Resources will highlight the contributions of all of Boston’s ethnic groups to the cultural landscape of the city and how it is being reshaped over time to reflect growing diversity. The Boston Foundation will launch the searchable online survey in spring 2003 to capture the wealth of resources available in Greater Boston.

COMPETITION

Competition for Boston’s visitors and audiences exists on its borders. Providence, R.I., provides income and sales tax breaks to artists in an “arts and entertainment district,” and has appointed a commission to identify and help refurbish artists’ housing, place artists, and encourage spending in the private sector. Closer to home, Lowell has followed Providence in establishing a downtown arts district to which at least one Boston organization, the Revolving Museum, has relocated. The Watertown Arts on The Charles (WATCH) has new facilities serving Boston’s artists and their audiences, and a large new multi-use space, the Constellation Center, is in development in Cambridge.

Competition for Boston’s knowledge workers — the “creative class” — is also intense from other cities in the nation. San Francisco, New York, Austin, and San Diego are investing more on a per capita basis than Boston to ensure a rich diversity of large and small cultural institutions.

LINKS

Boston Office of Cultural Affairs
The City of Boston’s cultural agency, providing funding, programming and support to local arts agencies throughout Boston. Website provides information on many cultural events, programs, and initiatives, and the online BostonNOW events calendar.

New England Foundation for the Arts
One of seven regional arts agencies nationwide whose mission is to develop and manage arts initiatives on local, regional, national and international levels. Website provides pdf versions of research and other publications and information on events, programs, and initiatives.

Massachusetts Cultural Council
The state’s cultural agency, providing funding, programming, and support to local arts agencies throughout Massachusetts. Website provides link for monthly events email list, job bank, and information on events.

Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences, and Humanities  Advocating for more jobs, livable communities, and better schools through the arts, sciences, and humanities. Website provides news clips about arts and humanities public policy issues and advocacy information.

ArtsBoston
A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the performing arts in Boston through capacity building and discount ticket buying programs. Site provides listserv signup for daily discount ticket updates as well as information on other ArtsBoston programs.

Boston Redevelopment Authority Artist Space Initiative  An initiative of the BRA and other city agencies to retain existing spaces for artists and create new ones. Link available to join the BRA’s artist database.

Americans for the Arts  Dedicated to creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Website provides information on ordering research publications and some html articles and an online searchable field directory of arts organizations throughout the country, as well as information on their events, programs, and initiatives.

National Endowment for the Arts
An independent agency of the federal government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the nation’s cultural life. Website provides pdf versions of research and other publications and information on events, programs, and initiatives.

National Endowment for the Humanities
An independent agency of the federal government dedicated to supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. Website provides pdf versions of research and other publications and information on events, programs, and initiatives.