IN THE NEWS: PLACE ACT & CREATIVE SPACE PRESERVATION PRESS CONFERENCES & HEARING
BOSTON (9/25/23) - Last week, MASSCreative hosted their second press conference this month on two of their Creative Sector Agenda priority bills: the Program for Local Art and Community Engagement (PLACE) Act and the Creative Space Preservation Act. The first press conference occurred on Friday, September 15 in Worcester on H.3246/S.2190, An Act establishing a program for local art and community engagement, known as the PLACE Act, with lead sponsors Rep. Mary Keefe (D-Worcester) and Sen. Robyn Kennedy (D-Worcester). The second press conference took place on Tuesday, September 19 and spotlighted H.3241/S.530, An Act to preserve space for the creative economy, known as the Creative Space Preservation Act. Both bills received a hearing before the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development on Monday, September 18 in Hearing Room A-1 of the State House.
Held in front of the Tobias Boland Statue at the Rockland Trust Plaza in Worcester, the PLACE Act press conference included speakers Rep. Mary Keefe, Sen. Robyn Kennedy, Elizabeth Tiblanc of Embrace Boston, Kate Gilbert of Now + There, Alfred Wilson of Beyond Walls, and Robert Shure of Skylight Studios, Inc. Lead sponsors Rep. Steve Ultrino and Sen. Paul Mark were not able to attend the event but lent their support.
“I am thrilled to be championing the PLACE Act with my legislative partners. Public art creates the cultural bonds, community pride, and economic growth so essential for thriving neighborhoods. We look forward to passing this act and creating more opportunities for public art across the Commonwealth.”
The PLACE Act would designate a percentage of construction costs on any Commonwealth-owned property and public funding granted to new construction projects exceeding $200K for a public art fund. The fund would be used to create and maintain public art in Massachusetts and would codify the process for commissioning public art, making it easier for cities and towns to engage their residents in developing relevant and inclusive public art for all. At least 28 cultural organizations and 51 individuals are endorsing the bill.
“Across the Commonwealth, we see the construction projects underway and there are more scheduled to begin this year. With the PLACE Act, we have the opportunity to promote vibrant and inclusive neighborhoods now, and to make certain that public art remains present and accessible in our communities.”
The September 19th Creative Space Preservation Act event happened at The Muse in Roxbury and included speakers Sen. Liz Miranda (D-Boston), Rep. Dan Cahill (D-Lynn), Marc Draisen from Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Malik Williams from the Secret Society of Black Creatives, Ami Bennitt from the #ARTSTAYHERE Coalition, and Matt McArthur from The Record Co.
“This legislation is about preserving our land, our culture, and our community. It’s widely known that we are experiencing displacement in housing, small business, and yes, our creative spaces. The creative sector impacts everyone and exists everywhere in Massachusetts. It is critical to amplify the stories of underrepresented communities. But only so long as artists can continue to live and work here.”
The Creative Space Preservation Act would create a defined property restriction for creative maker space and performance or exhibition space. It would allow cities and towns to establish trust funds to hold assets and property for the creation and preservation of creative spaces, giving them more tools to keep artists in their communities. 46 cultural organizations and 104 individuals are currently endorsing the Creative Space Preservation Act.
“This is a huge issue, particularly in the Metro Boston region, but also in cities and towns statewide. We have seen the same story play out over and over again and be exacerbated by COVID: artists move into a community, and they bring vibrancy, they bring income, they bring life, and then they get priced out. You can’t keep artists in communities without space and funding and this bill is going to do so much to keep them in place.”
Both bills inspired broad support during the September 18 Joint Committee hearing. Testifiers represented communities spanning between Cape Cod and Northampton and included organizations such as the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, Lynn Museum, Arts Foundation of Cape Cod and Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Northampton Community Arts Trust, and Western Avenue Studios in Lowell. Each testifier spoke to the rising demand and urgency for affordable creative maker spaces and placekeeping in their communities.
“What makes this session’s Creative Sector Agenda strong is we started this process through a series of regional community meetings, surveys, and conversations, MASSCreative got direct feedback on what policies and state investments are needed most for a more inclusive and equitable creative sector. We keep hearing from community leaders that we are at crisis levels when it comes to our creative maker space inventory. The Creative Space Preservation Act will make it easier for cities and towns throughout Massachusetts to keep artists in our communities. At the same time, the PLACE Act will also make it easier for those communities to make sure their stories and diversity are reflected in public spaces, even as we continue to develop neighborhoods.”
MASSCreative and the lead sponsors are encouraging supporters to contact their legislators and ask them to co-sponsor both the PLACE Act and Creative Space Preservation Act. They are also calling on organizations and individuals to endorse the entire 2023-2024 Creative Sector Agenda.
MASSCreative anticipates hearings on the Cultural Equity in Tourism Bill, Downtown Vitality Bill, and ACE Act, which also constitute the Creative Sector Agenda, later this Fall.
MEDIA HITS:
Worcester creatives back state efforts to boost arts funding (The Telegram & Gazette)
Arts advocates pushing for bill to protect public art spaces (Spectrum News 1)
