Creative Economy and Workforce
Strengthening Massachusetts’s Creative Economy and Growing our Creative Workforce.
In Massachusetts, the creative sector delivers $27.2 billion in economic value to our economy. Our sector includes non-profit cultural organizations, creative small busienses, artists, creative workers and arts administrators. MASSCreative endorses policy and programatic solutions that strenghten pathways to creative jobs, grown small creative businesses, and strengthen cultural non-profits.
The MASSCreative Action Network is continuing its long-term campaign of increasing the Mass Cultural Council’s budget to $35 million, or $5 per capita, by urging the Healey-Driscoll Administration to increase the Mass Cultural Council’s FY26 budget (0640-0300) to $28 million. We are also advocating for $17 million for the Massachusetts Tourism Trust Fund and Regional Tourism Councils. Sign on in support today!
Emily Ruddock, MASSCreative’s executive director, shares updates about some of our grassroots organizing and legislative achievements in 2024 and a glimpse of what we are preparing for 2025.
On November 15, 2024, the MASSCreative Action Network (MCAN) hosted an election debrief with community organizing and policy experts to learn how 2024 federal and state-level election results will impact the creative sector in Massachusetts. Watch the recording here.
Help get the vote out and play your part for a stronger democracy.
Take action today by joining MCAN in signing onto a letter urging President Biden to take executive action and instruct the Bureau of Labor Statistics to include the charitable sector in the Quarterly Census on Employment and Wages.
Make sure you are prepared to vote on November 5: Check out our nonpartisan 2024 General Election Voter Guides.
An important part of the governing process is public hearings. These occur on all levels of government (Federal, State, and Local). Understanding the hearing process and how you can participate will make you a more effective advocate for a more equitable and inclusive creative sector.
Maintaining and increasing public investment in the creative community requires constant and broad grassroots activism throughout the annual budget process.
There is a lot of misinformation on what a nonprofit can and cannot do when it comes to advocating for its interests and the needs of the communities they serve. Check out our Nonprofits and Advocacy Resource on how your organization effectively and confidently advocate for a more equitable and inclusive creative sector of all residents in the Commonwealth.
In this webinar, we took time to honor Juneteenth and Pride Month, and talked about the status of arts education funding and voting protections.
In this webinar, we discussed mapping our roles in a social change ecosystem, talked about proposed legislation to address COVID-19 voting options, the 2020 Census, and reviewed federal and state supports for the creative sector.
In this webinar, we had a community conversation about mapping our social change roles during times of crisis.
Read Richeline's blog about attending the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. and how artists can play a role in strengthening communities and democracy.
Last week, MOAC for the City of Boston announced that they are establishing a $10M multi-year Cultural Investment Grant funded through local ARPA appropriations.
“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