ACTION: Thank the House for $26.7m for creativity
On April 26, 2024, the House passed its FY25 Budget and included $26.7 million for the Mass Cultural Council’s annual operations and grant programs. This is a 3.58% increase in investments in arts and culture in the Commonwealth, and draws us one step closer towards our long-term campaign of achieving $5 per capita for creativity.
MASSCreative Action Network is preparing a thank you letter to House leadership sharing our appreciation for this increase. We are collecting signatures from artists, creative workers, cultural organizations, creative businesses, and arts, culture, and creativity supporters. Adding your signature takes approximately 30 seconds, but is a meaningful way of building our advocacy around the state budget. Please add your signature to our letter today and invite members of your network to sign on.
We are accepting signatures through Friday, May 3rd at 12 PM.
Dear Speaker Mariano, Chair Michlewitz and Chair Domb,
We thank you for including $26.7 million for the Mass Cultural Council’s line item (0640-0300) in the House FY25 Budget. This represents a 3.58% increase from the FY24 allocation and $3.83 per capita of annual state investments - keeping Massachusetts within the top ten states, nationally, for creative sector support.
An increase in state investments for arts, culture and creativity is especially significant this year, given the demands on the FY25 Budget. We know you and your colleagues made difficult decisions regarding spending and we thank you for sharing our belief that a state which invests in its cultural organizations and creative workers is better connected, stronger, and economically competitive.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis' most recent Arts and Culture Production Satellite Account (ACPSA) report, Massachusetts’ creative sector generated $28.6 billion in economic value for the Commonwealth, which is more than the construction and utilities sectors. In Springfield, cultural events generated $31.85 per person in additional spending to hospitality and retail businesses. Attendees who traveled from outside of the county in which the activity took place spent an average of $51.83 in the local economy. SMU Data Arts recently named Massachusetts the 3rd most culturally vibrant state in the nation, due in large part to consistent public investments to every part of the statewide sector.
As a sector, we are eager to continue our work of connecting communities, amplifying their voices, celebrating the diverse cultures in Massachusetts, and generating significant economic activity in every region of the Commonwealth. The $26.7 million state investment in the Mass Cultural Council in FY25 will make this possible. Thank you for your leadership on arts and culture in this budget.
Sincerely,
Members of the Creative and Cultural Community
ADD YOUR SIGNATURE TO THE ACTION NETWORK’S LETTER
