Creative Sector Advocates Request $5 Per Resident in Healey’s FY24 Proposal
BOSTON (2/8/23) - On Wednesday, February 8, 2023, MASSCreative submitted a letter endorsed by 595 individuals and organizations throughout the Commonwealth to Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, and Secretary Gorzkowicz encouraging the Healey Administration to increase the Mass Cultural Council line item to $35 million, equaling $5 per capita, in the FY24 budget. The Mass Cultural Council line item capped at $23.4 million in FY23, approximately $3.28 per capita, which was a 9.4% increase from the year prior. The letter states that the US Bureau of Economic Analysis rates the economic value of arts and cultural production in Massachusetts at $23.7 billion, yielding more than retail or construction.
In a recent survey, 65% of Massachusetts residents rated arts and cultural organizations as vital to the Commonwealth’s communities. 72% of respondents reported in a separate study produced in 2022 that this was especially true for individuals with incomes below $50,000, who are slightly more likely to engage with community or participatory arts activities, pursue activities that can support their emotional well-being, and seek local arts and culture venues to reflect their cultural identity. The letter further requests the Healey Administration to make these investments in order to continue powering the creative workforce, strengthen community foundations, enhance arts education and creative youth development programs, and to do so in alignment with state leaderships’ plans for continued resiliency and innovation while emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Budgets are a reflection of our priorities: what we choose to spend public funds on is in direct relationship to what we value. The creative sector plays a crucial role in the vibrancy of our cities and towns. Artists, creative workers, and cultural organizations strengthen our connections to each other and our communities.” said Emily Ruddock, Executive Director of MASSCreative, “Governor Healey and Lt. Governor Driscoll have a unique opportunity with their first budget to articulate their priorities and we encourage them to increase public investment in our sector.”
The Boston Center for the Arts, John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, Boston Children’s Museum, Westborough Cultural Council, Medway Cultural Council, Museum of Fine Arts, Woods Hole Film Festival, Company One Theatre, New England Aquarium, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Peabody Essex Museum, New Bedford Ballet Foundation, Jacobs Pillow, Jewish Arts Collaborative, Guild of Boston Artists, and Lesley University are among the organizations that endorsed the budget request.
About MASSCreative
MASSCreative works with artists, cultural councils, arts organizations, and the broader creative community to build a Commonwealth where arts and creativity are an expected, recognized, and valued part of everyday life. Working with their coalition of 400 arts and cultural organizations and artists from across the Commonwealth, MASSCreative uses public education and awareness, grassroots organizing, advocacy campaigns, and other civic and political engagement to ensure that arts, culture, and creativity are considered when important policy and political decisions are made at the state and local levels.
Last session, MASSCreative effectively led advocacy with their membership and Mass Cultural Council to secure $22.5 million in annual state funding for the creative sector and $135 million for arts and cultural recovery in ARPA appropriations.
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CONTACT:
Kelsey Rode, Director of External Relations
413-206-6451