State Senator Ed Kennedy Attends Cultural Facilities Funds Grant Award Celebration

State Senator Ed Kennedy attended the celebration for the northeastern Massachusetts recipients of  Mass Cultural Council’s FY22 Cultural Facilities Fund grant award Monday, September 19th. Created in 2006 by an act of the legislature, the Cultural Facilities Funds program is funded annually by the Governor’s capital spending plan, and is administered jointly by the Mass Cultural Council and MassDevelopment. The grant program seeks to  Enhance Massachusetts’ creative economy through financing for acquisition, construction, expansion, renovation, and repair of cultural facilities;  Increase employment, entrepreneurialism, and tourism in the regions where these facilities are located; and Stimulate further investment in the arts, heritage, and sciences by preserving cultural resources.

The Cultural Facilities Fund supports investments in cultural facilities and projects across Massachusettsthrough the use of capital and planning grants for nonprofit organizations, colleges, and municipalities that own or operate facilities primarily focused on the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences. Since 2007, 1,290 projects across Massachusetts employing more than 33,410 architects, engineers, contractors, and construction workers have been awarded over $150 million. 

Congratulations to the Lowell Memorial Auditorium on their $200,000 FY22 Cultural Facilities Funds grant award which will be used for repairs and renovations to the exterior envelope, stabilization work, ADA improvements, and for interior, roof, and stairway renovations. 

The Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Grant Award recipients from Beverly, Essex, Gloucester. Lawrence, Lowell, Marblehead and Salem gathered at the Western Avenue Studios in Lowell to receive the Cultural Facility Grant Awards for the Northeast Region on Monday, September 19.
State Senator Ed Kennedy speaks to the crowd during the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Cultural Facilities Grant Award Ceremony for the Northeastern Region at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell on Monday, September 19.
Massachusetts Cultural Council Executive Director Michael Bobbitt announces the Cultural Facilities Grant recipients for the Northeastern Region at the Grant Award Announcement Ceremony at Western Avenue Studios on Monday, September 19.

MCC Vice-Chair Marc Carroll, Attorney Jim Grace Executive Director of the Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston, Lowell Mayor Sokhary Chau, MCC Executive Director Michael Bobbitt, and State Senator Ed Kennedy.
Lowell artist Maxine Farkas who is one of the original artists at Western Avenue Studios and State Senator Ed Kennedy at the MCC Cultural Facilities Grant Awards Ceremony on Monday, September 19.

Visit the Mass Cultural Council website for the list of recipients in the northeast region of Massachusetts.