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.