Month: July 2021

The COVID-19 Cultural Impact Commission released its final report on June 30, concluding in a series of recommendations to the Legislature that include the utilization of $575 million of the $5.3 billion in federal funding received by the state through the American Rescue Plan to address the recovery of the creative and cultural sector over the next four years, as well as several additional policy recommendations.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for the Commonwealth’s arts and cultural institutions, with the latest figures coming from the Mass Cultural Council showing a loss of $588 million by non-profit and municipal cultural organizations and $30.4 million in lost revenue reported by individual artists, teaching artists, and scientists/humanists from March 2020 to April 2021.

In addition to adding a great deal to our quality of life, arts and culture represent a significant economic sector in our state that we must help rebound and rebuild in the coming months and years. Prior to the pandemic, arts nonprofits in the Commonwealth supported more than 73,000 full-time jobs, generating more than $2.2 billion in total spending and bringing in nearly $100 million in state tax revenue.  The Massachusetts arts and cultural industries generated over 25 billion dollars for the U.S. GDP in 2019 alone. There are nearly 310,000 people employed by the creative economy in New England, with nearly half employed in cultural institutions providing close to 150,000 creative economy jobs in Massachusetts.

“The work of this commission confirms what we already knew – the arts and cultural sector is  the lifeblood of the Massachusetts economy and needs substantial investments to aid in its recovery,” said Sen. Edward J. Kennedy, Co-chair of the Commission. “The recommendations in this report, as well as the bill I filed, S.2246 An Act to Rebuild the Commonwealth’s Cultural Future, are critical not only to rescuing and rebuilding this hard hit sector but positioning it to be stronger and more resilient moving forward.”  

“The Commission’s recommendations are a holistic look at the cultural sector’s needs, post-pandemic,” said Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council.  “It cannot be overlooked that the Commonwealth’s economy will not fully recover without robust public investment to rebuild and safely reopen cultural organizations and bolster the economic security of individual artists.  These targeted investments will ensure Massachusetts remains competitive as place to live and work.  As such, I urge our legislators to treat these recommendations as a roadmap.  Doing so will help the cultural sector move past recovery to economic growth.”

“As we come out of the pandemic, we are going to need every tool at our disposal to revive the economy, bring people together again, and proactively work for racial equity. The arts and cultural community are central to these efforts.” said Emily Ruddock, Executive Director of MASSCreative. “In partnership with more than 400 member organizations and thousands of arts and cultural advocates, MASSCreative fully supports the recommendations included in the Commission’s report. We look forward to working with the Legislature to ensure a robust and equitable road to recovery for the entire arts and cultural sector.”

To see the full report:

Recommendations of the commission include:

• $375 million for a Recovery and Reopening Grant Program to be distributed by the Mass Cultural Council

• $40 million for a broad and inclusive statewide marketing campaign funded over 4 years by the Massachusetts Office Travel and Tourism

• $60 million for infrastructure and equipment upgrades, broken down into:

• $100 million for Workforce Development, Youth Education, and Community Development:

• Further Considerations Include:
• The Formation of a commission to focus on issues of Diversity, Equity, Access and Inclusion within arts and cultural funding.
• Increase state investment into the Cultural Facilities Fund and Mass Cultural Council over the course of 5 years.
• Creation of a workforce program that hires artists and cultural organizations to create new art across disciplines
• Explore statewide and local municipal mechanisms to increase public support and ensure stability for the arts and cultural sector long term.
• The redrafting of S.2246, An Act to Rebuild the Commonwealth’s Cultural Future. The bill currently calls for no less than $200 million of local, state, and federal COVID-19 recovery funds be used to establish a Massachusetts Cultural Economy COVID-19 Recovery Fund administered by the Mass Cultural Council.

The commission, a special legislative commission established by the 2020 Economic Development Bill, was co-chaired by Sen. Ed Kennedy (D-Lowell) and Rep. Carole Fiola (D-Fall River), the co-chairs of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development.

In addition to Co-Chairs Kennedy and Fiola, Commission members included:

Michael Bobbitt, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, Emily Ruddock, Executive Director of MassCreative, Dan Yaeger, member of the Commonwealth Association of Museums, Dennis Canty, a member of the Educational Theatre Association, Chris McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown Cultural District, Sara Bogosian, Executive Director of the Whistler House Museum of Art/Lowell Artists Association, Representing the Lowell Canalway Cultural District, Dawn Simmons, Executive Director of Stage Source, Magdalena Gomez, Current Poet Laureate of Springfield, award-winning performance poet, playwright, and teaching artist, Aminah Pilgrim, Humanist, artist, author, community organizer and award-winning educator, A. J. Pietrantone, Deputy Director of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, School, Archives, and Community Programs, James Marsh, General Manager of theLynn Auditorium and Community Development Director 

Over the course of two months, from May 4^th to June 29^th, Commission members held seven public meetings and a public hearing to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 on the cultural and creative sector and the efforts needed to build the industry back while addressing the vulnerabilities of the sector that exacerbated the impacts of COVID-19. 

Coalition for a Better Acre’s plan to develop a sober living community at 555 Merrimack Street in Lowell was given a boost by the Commonwealth on Thursday morning.

Sen. Kennedy joined Gov. Charlie Baker, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy and Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox, as well as other local legislators and officials in Lawrence to announce affordable housing awards or 28 projects in 21 communities across the Commonwealth. These awards will advance the development of 1,526 new rental units, including 1,346 rental units affordable for low- and extremely low-income households.  

The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) and the Baker-Polito Administration awarded $93.3 million in direct subsidy funding and allocated $45.8 million in federal and state housing tax credits that will generate approximately $310 million in equity in support of these projects. 

“Here in Massachusetts, we have seen the negative impacts of our housing crisis affect nearly every region. Through our new Housing Choice reforms, new programs, and increased capital investments, the Baker-Polito Administration is helping move great projects forward, more quickly,” said Kennealy. “Solving our housing crisis helps all of our households, enabling our working families to put down roots in communities, stabilize vulnerable families, and provide opportunities for cities and town to grow. We are excited to deploy federal recovery funding to supercharge the pipeline of affordable housing in Massachusetts.” 

Coalition for a Better Acre plans to build a three-story building that will include ground floor retail space and 27 apartments – a mix of studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units. The focus of the project is to provide affordable, permanent housing and appropriate programming and support service in partnership with Lowell House, Inc. for people who have been in recovery from a substance abuse disorder for at least one year.

Sen. Kennedy said he was particularly excited to see Coalition for a Better Acre’s latest project recognized by the DHCD because it tackles two pressing societal problems – a lack of affordable housing and support for those in recovery from substance abuse disorders.

“Remaining sober takes a lifetime effort for anyone who has battled addiction, “ said Kennedy. “Having an affordable place to live in a supportive community takes some of that stress away and will allow people to focus on their families, careers, and living their lives to their fullest.”

Studies have shown that people who simply go through a detox program with no continuing support have an 80-90 percent chance of relapsing; those who live in a recovery home without further support have a 30-40 percent relapse rate; those who live long-term sober houses or apartments relapse at a 10-20 percent rate.

All 27 units will be affordable to individuals or households earning less than 60% of the average median income (AMI), with eight units further restricted for individuals or households earning less than 30% of AMI and, in some cases, transitioning from homelessness. 

The project will be built to Passive House standards, a design process that results in ultra-low-energy, efficient buildings and a reduced ecological footprint.

The $11million project will replace the former Lowell House, Inc. headquarters at 555 Merrimack St., a dilapidated, low-rise commercial building that sits along the Western Canal.