When Mayor Walsh ran for office in 2013, he outlined a vision in which artists would have a true partner and advocate in City Hall. Immediately following his victory, Walsh began delivering on that promise, creating an Arts & Culture transition committee comprising arts leaders, educators and artists. When he took office in 2014, one of his first acts was to increase the budget of the Boston Cultural Council, effectively doubling the amount of grant money available for Boston arts organizations, which he did again the following year. As promised in his campaign, he also created a Cabinet-level position for arts and culture.

In 2015, Mayor Walsh announced the launch of Boston’s cultural planning process, designed to create a blueprint and build grassroots support for arts and culture in the city. The plan was issued in June 2016 concurrent with hosting the National Convention of Americans for the Arts in the City of Boston. In a major policy speech, Mayor Walsh detailed the five major goals of Boston Creates: to create a cultural shift in the city by mobilizing partners to support the arts, grow resources to artists, enhance cultural equity, inclusion and diversity in the sector, and re imagine what a sustainable arts eco-system looks like in Boston.

In addition to planning efforts, Mayor Walsh’s actions have ensured that arts and culture are a top priority for the city. In June 2015, the City received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to create Boston AIR, an artist-in-residence program within city government. Boston AIR placed three artists into collaborative residencies in the Police Department, the Office of Recovery Services, Office of Women’s Advancement and Department of Neighborhood Development. In FY17, the Mayor funded an expansion of BostonAIR into 10 residencies at the Boston Centers for Youth and Families. This bold experiment gained national attention and was recently included in the NEA’s new book on Creative Placemaking.

 

Boston Mayor Martin Walsh receives the 2017 Americans for the Arts and The United States Conference of Mayors National Award for Local Arts Leadership for cities with a population of 100,000 or more.