A new 10-year initiative called Boston Creates will put millions of dollars into making art an essential aspect of Boston and its public spaces.
“For Boston to be a city that leads, a city that innovates, a city that inspires, the arts have to be at the heart of what we do. If artists don’t thrive here, we’ll be borrowing our culture, and ultimately our vision, from somewhere else,” said Walsh at an event last week where he unveiled Boston Creates.
Julie Burros, the city’s Chief of Arts and Culture joined Boston Public Radio Wednesday to talk about Boston’s art scene and how Boston Creates will influence the city over the course of its ten-year run time.
“Boston will become as well known for the arts as it already is for sports and history... this plan lays a solid plan moving forward for how we can work together and how we can foster a culture shift that makes a more collaborative city that helps to broaden access to the arts,” said Burros.
In Boston, access to the arts is inequitable, says Burros. She hopes that Boston Creates will provide the necessary opportunities for art in Boston to become more egalitarian. “Some people have ready access and can take full advantage of participating in arts and culture, and the cultural life of the city; and many people do not have that kind of access. So, they don’t benefit from participating… inequity is a huge issue ” said Burros.
Up until now, Boston has not had a tradition of using municipal funding for public art. Boston Creates is working to change this by incorporating arts into the city’s municipal construction budget of all public buildings. Burros is happy that the government recognizes the importance of art and the impact it can have on the community. “So this recognition within government that, it's not only about arts and culture, but the wider health of the economy, of health and well-being, of our education sector; they are all tied together, and the arts are a very important part of that.”
