MASSCREATIVE’S 2024 REFLECTION LETTER
Image features a photo of Emily Ruddock and community members at MASSCreative’s South Coast Creative Conversations event at The Ignition Space in Fall River. Photo by Colleen MacRamos of New Bedford Creative; overlay is decorative.
December 24, 2024
Dear Friends and Fellow Supporters of the Massachusetts Creative Sector,
Last week, my eight-year-old opened day 19 of her Star Wars Lego Advent calendar and was shocked to realize just how little of 2024 remains! I imagine you, too, might be feeling as if this year went by in record time. While it can be easy to just keep running to the next task or exciting event, I’m glad that I work with a team of dedicated staff and board members who take the time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished together.
At MASSCreative, we are first and foremost proud to partake in partnerships and coalitions that sustain advocacy momentum for the creative community in every corner of the Commonwealth. We know that this work doesn’t happen without confident, skilled, and passionate advocates working together for an inclusive and equitable arts and cultural sector for all in Massachusetts.
CELEBRATING ART, CULTURE, AND ADVOCACY
We kicked off 2024 with Creative Sector Advocacy Week: five full days of community organizing, arts celebrations, and grassroots power-building. The Springfield Creative City Collective opened the week with a 24-hour livestream featuring artists, lawmakers, policy experts, and cultural organizations. Local partners, including ZUMIX, New Bedford Creative, Fall River Arts & Culture Coalition, the Drama Studio, Springfield Cultural Partnership, and the Springfield Creative City Collective, co-hosted roundtables with elected decision-makers to discuss the creative community’s needs. Thanks to advocates organized by ZUMIX in East Boston, the Boston City Council unanimously endorsed the Creative Space Preservation Act and urged the legislature to pass the bill.
On Wednesday, January 24th, Sen. Paul Mark and Rep. Mindy Domb—co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development—joined MASSCreative, Mass Cultural Council, Mass Humanities, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Massachusetts Music Educators Association, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Dunamis, and ArtsBoston’s Network for Arts Administrators of Color to co-host Creative Sector Day at the State House. The event began with Gov. Healey and Lt. Gov. Driscoll announcing their recommendation for an increased $25.5 million budget for the Mass Cultural Council. Throughout the day, attendees, lawmakers, staff, and visitors were treated to performances and displays by over 30 performing and visual artists from across the Commonwealth.
Attendees at Creative Sector Day at the State House on January 24th, 2024. Photo by Steph Craig Studios.
CULTIVATING LOCAL LEADERS
Thanks to funding from the Barr Foundation, MASSCreative supported 10 regional arts organizers through our Advocacy & Organizing Fellowship. The Fellows spent one full year participating in trainings, gaining policy development skills, and designing advocacy campaigns to address pressing issues in their communities, including artist displacement, access to thoughtfully designed public space, volunteer attraction and retention, and public arts funding for queer and trans artists. In October, each fellow presented their cultural organizing strategy and celebrated their work together. I am especially proud that, just one month later, we welcomed the next cohort of Advocacy & Organizing Fellows, who will spend 2025 incubating their vision for systems change and stronger support for the creative community.
COALITION POLICY WINS
In the 2023-2024 legislative session, we celebrated the passage of one of our Creative Sector Legislative Agenda bills. The Downtown Vitality Fund was included in the final version of the “Mass Leads Act,” this session’s economic development bond bill, which will provide $9.5 million in grants to grow and sustain cultural districts, main streets, and downtown management entities. We know that artists and cultural events drive visitors downtown, foster residents’ pride in their communities, and multiply local financial and mental well-being. Having designated resources to ensure cultural districts can grow their impact is a win that we can all celebrate.
The Downtown Vitality Fund's success was a direct result of a strong coalition, including bill sponsors Rep. Tony Cabral and Sen. John Cronin and cross-sector partners Mass Cultural Council, MassINC’s Gateway Cities Innovation Institute, and the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Together, we mobilized support from not only the creative community, but also the business community and cities and towns. The Downtown Vitality Act was endorsed by 126 individual artists and cultural organizations.
ENHANCING KNOWLEDGE AND INSPIRING ADVOCACY
In May, MASSCreative held our inaugural Creative Advocacy Institute at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell. The Creative Advocacy Institute is an annual convening of advocacy leaders and creative organizers who spend the day learning from each other, identifying opportunities to partner together, and gaining inspiration to take action. We were honored to hear remarks from Lt. Gov. Driscoll and Rep. Vanna Howard, who welcomed participants from across the Commonwealth and New England, shared their support for artists, cultural organizations, and creative small businesses, and urged attendees to keep advocating together. Quanice Floyd, M.Ed, Executive Director of the National Guild for Community Arts Education, delivered an inspiring keynote to conclude this inaugural gathering. Perhaps the best part of the event was that each session featured artists, creatives, organizers, and advocates who shared their knowledge and helped attendees grow their skill sets.
SUPPORTING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
This Fall, MASSCreative worked with arts leaders in the 11th Middlesex, 12th Middlesex, Plymouth, and Barnstable Districts to engage candidates for Massachusetts House and Senate seats during the campaign season. Through non-partisan roundtables and town halls, constituents shared their concerns for the creative community and encouraged candidates to adopt pro-arts and culture policy platforms. We also launched “Let's Get Registered,” a workshop series in partnership with creative youth development organizations designed to educate young leaders on the importance of voting and how to register.
BUILDING POLICY IN COMMUNITY
In October, we worked with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and local partners, including Artists for Humanity, ArtsBoston’s Network for Arts Administrators of Color, Assets for Artists, Boston Center for the Arts, Community Music Center of Boston, Creative Collective LLC, Fall River Arts & Culture Coalition, Fine Arts Work Center, LaunchSpace, Lynn Museum & Arts Center, Mosaic Lowell, New Bedford Creative, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, The Boston Foundation, The Record Co., and Western Avenue Studios to convene members of the creative sector for Creative Conversations. During these town hall-style meetings, we updated attendees on the progress of the 2023–2024 Creative Sector Legislative Agenda and collected feedback about what should be included in the 2025–2026 Legislative Agenda.
At MASSCreative, we believe that policy proposals should be informed by the communities they will directly impact. Thanks to the individual artists, creative entrepreneurs, and cultural organization staff who attended a meeting or took our online survey, we know exactly what challenges our sector faces and what opportunities we can pursue through legislation. We look forward to reporting back to the field and sharing the 2025–2026 policy priorities in the New Year.
We are proud of all that we have accomplished together this year and believe that, because of these efforts, we are making the creative sector more equitable, inclusive, and vibrant for everyone in Massachusetts.
Thank you for your partnership in this work and for your personal advocacy. We invite you to strengthen our coalition by joining us in advocating for next session’s cultural policy proposals and participating in Creative Sector Advocacy Week 2025. Please do not hesitate to contact our team with any questions or to schedule a conversation to discuss working together.
In partnership,
Emily Ruddock
Executive Director, MASSCreative