PRESS CONFERENCE: PLACE ACT
MEDIA ADVISORY
MASSCREATIVE TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE WITH REPRESENTATIVE MARY KEEFE AND
SENATOR ROBYN KENNEDY ON PUBLIC ART BILL
WHEN:
Friday, September 15th, 2023 at 11:00 AM
WHERE: Tobias Boland Statue, Rockland Trust Plaza
45 Green Street
Worcester, MA 01604
Street parking is available.
Rain Location:
Worcester Public Library
3 Salem Street
Worcester, MA 01608
WHAT: The MASSCreative Action Network invites you to join Representative Mary Keefe and Senator Robyn Kennedy for a press conference on H.3246/S.2190, An Act establishing a program for local art and community engagement, known as the PLACE Act.
Public art connects us to each other, place, and history. All across the Commonwealth, we see examples of this in our public art: The Boston Women’s Memorial, Shaw Memorial, The Embrace, OG Slick POW WOW Mural in Worcester, Dr. Seuss National Memorial Sculpture Garden in Springfield, North Shore Art Trail, and Through the Looking Glass in Barnstable. Public art is an economic driver for communities that embrace it. In 2017, the Beyond Walls 10-Day International mural festival in Lynn generated over $100,000 for local restaurants and businesses and attracted more than 5,000 visitors. As Massachusetts continues to develop and expand our economy, we have an opportunity to build an inclusive, reflective, and beautiful Commonwealth through investments in public art.
H.3246/S.2190 would establish the Program for Local Art and Community Engagement (PLACE) Fund and designate a percentage of construction costs on any Commonwealth-owned property and new public construction projects exceeding $200,000 for a public art fund. The fund would be used to create and maintain public art in communities across Massachusetts and would prioritize work by and commissions from artists living and working in Massachusetts. PLACE codifies 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.
Speakers will include Elizabeth Tiblanc from Embrace Boston, Alfred Wilson from Beyond Walls, Kate Gilbert from Now + There, and Robert Shure of Skylight Studios.
Registration is encouraged but not required. Register for the press conference HERE.
See the bill fact sheet HERE.
Contact information for the press conference:
Kelsey Rode
Director of External Relations, MASSCreative
krode@mass-creative.org
413-206-6451
