What would racial equity look like in Massachusetts’ cultural sector?
What can artists, cultural workers, and organizations do to help dismantle systemic racism?
How can Mass Cultural Council support the sector in achieving racial equity?

While systemic racism has been a part of this country for 400 years, recent events have fomented a growing movement for racial equity and justice. Mass Cultural Council is taking this moment in time to embark on a restart and refocus of our work as it relates to racial equity, and we want to hear from you.

Continue reading We’re On This Journey Together: A Racial Equity Listening Series →

• Keep it simple. Discard what’s nonessential. Spark joy. MIT and Harvard researchers recommend strategies for teaching this fall
• Great little film explaining why Zoom is so difficult with music and also giving some hope with JackTrip. Playing Music Together Online Is Not As Simple As It Seems
• 5 Museum Curators Share The Artwork They’ve Missed The Most
• To learn more about how developmental relationships can be used in your work with young people, download the Search Institute’s, Relationships First: Creating Connections That Help Young People Thrive. Continue reading Inspiration and Education – Aug 10 →

Reopening Resources can be found on Mass Cultural Council’s site. For Public Events and Performance Venues see the State Reopening Guidelines for sectors that have been categorized under Phase 3 of reopening, including indoor and outdoor events, indoor recreation, museums and cultural facilities, and theaters and performance venues.

Create, Connect, Catalyze Framework – key impact areas essential to creative youth development. Developed by the CYD National Partnership. Continue reading Opportunities & Resources – Aug 3 →

Reopening Resources

• Governor’s plan to reopen Massachusetts. (MASSCreative is collecting any questions you may have about the plan.)
• Camp Operations Guide Summer 2020 and Many Day Camps Are Choosing To Reopen, But Should Your Child Attend?
• Reopening the Cultural Sector in U.S. Cities
• Webinar Recap: Understanding Audiences: Early Results from Culture and Community in Time of Crisis Survey
• COVID-19: Prepare, Mitigate, Recover, an online community platform created by the Theatre Communications Group.
• U.S. Department of Arts and Culture Community Care in the Time of Coronavirus, a diverse resource list for addressing social justice as it pertains to the nation’s reaction to the COVID-19 emergency, including, ART BECAME THE OXYGEN: AN ARTISTIC RESPONSE GUIDE

Webinars

CYD Toolkit Series: Program Evaluation – June 23, 1-2pm
In this 7th webinar in the CYD Toolkit Series, Justin Jalea discusses trends and recommendations from his landscape paper on Program Evaluation, (an Americans for the Arts and the CYD National Partnership). He will be joined by practitioners that are integrating youth participation in program evaluation and using data to boldly and creatively demonstrate impact.

Abolitionist Teaching and the Future of Our Schools – June 23, 5-6:30pm
A conversation with Bettina Love, Gholdy Muhammad, Dena Simmons and Brian Jones about abolitionist teaching and antiracist education.

Community Initiative Team Check-In on Public Art – June 24, 3-4pm
Join Mass Cultural Council’s Community Initiative Team for a conversation on public art-and policy-making across the Commonwealth.

Mass Festivals: To Go Virtual or Not? – June 25, 2-3:30pm
Join Mass Cultural Council’s Community Team for a virtual panel discussion on the decision-making process for doing online or virtual events.

American Policing and Protest: Abolition and Ethics from Slavery to Current Times – June 29, 1-2pm
The Radcliffe Institute will bring together experts to examine the historical roots of policing and responses to state violence.

Teens and CYD Alums

The Virtual National Youth Summit on Education, Justice, and Leadership – June 24, 1-1:30pm
A virtual opportunity to engage twice weekly with leading experts on education, justice, entrepreneurship, engineering, and more. Sessions begin each Wednesday at 1pm and 5pm.

Pandemic and Protests: An Online Town Hall for Black Teens  – June 26, 3-4pm
Processing the effects of systematic racism and the isolation of a pandemic at the same time is a lot, especially for teens separated from usual support systems like school and sports. This town hall connects Black teens and professionals to shed light on healing and activism.

BASQUAIT! – Writing the Future Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation and learn more about Basquiat, his peers, and New York’s post-graffiti era. DIVE INTO “WRITING THE FUTURE”

Call to Action: Recently submitted bill H.4755 will set aside and distribute funds to support non-profit arts & cultural organizations in the wake of COVID-19. We encourage organizations and individuals to submit testimony in support of this bill by June 16, 2020 at 5pm. Learn more.

Harvard/Radcliffe webinar on Music in the Moment on June 18 at 4-5pm. (Excellent past webinars, like Naming Racism, are also available online for free.)

In a 17 minute film, Segregated by Design examines the forgotten history of how our federal, state and local governments unconstitutionally segregated every major metropolitan area in America through law and policy.

ArtsBoston offers 10 Podcasts to Make Your Commitment to Anti-Racism a Long Term One.

Artist Opportunities are posted every Tuesday on Mass Cultural Council’s ArtSake blog.

NPR aired a segment on encouraging white people to reflect on how race has shaped their lives: There Is No Neutral

Community Conversations

Boston Relief Artist Fund and Resources group meeting with Office of Arts and Culture, Artist Resource Manager Julia Ryan. June 16 4-5pm. Register now.

National Guild for Community Arts Education hosts:

• Large Organizations Community Conversation for all who work in large organizations and schools (budgets of $1.5M+). Upcoming dates: June 15, June 29, July 13, and July 27. (3-4pm ET)
• Small Organizations Community Conversation for all who work in small organizations and schools (budgets under $750,000). Upcoming dates: June 15, June 29, July 13, and July 27.  (4-5pm ET)
• Teaching Artistry Community Conversations for all who are teaching artists and those who support teaching artists. Upcoming dates: June 17, July 8, and July 29. (5-6pm ET)
•  Arts in Education / K-12 School Partnerships Community Conversation for all who work in the arts and with K-12 school partnerships. Upcoming dates: June 18, July 2, and July 16​. (5-6pm ET)
• Mid-Size Organization Community Conversation for all who work in mid-size organizations and schools (budgets from $750,000 – $1.5M). Upcoming dates: June 19, July 3, July 17​. (4-5pm ET)

The core values of Creative Youth Development – racial equity and social justice, youth voice, and collective action – must be centered now more than ever.

Resources for Talking about Race

• Talking About Race (National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian)
• The Four I’S of Oppression and Paying Attention to White Culture and Privilege: A Missing Link to Advancing Racial Equity (courtesy EdVestors)
• Institutionalized Racism: A Syllabus (JSTOR Daily)
• No Going Back: A COVID-19 Cultural Strategy Activation Guide (The Center for Cultural Power)
• Brené with Ibram X. Kendi on How to Be an Antiracist

Resources for Talking with Young People

• Talking Race with Young Children (NPR)
• Wee Chalk the Walk (Wee the People, Philly Children’s Movement, MassArt’s Center for Art and Community Partnerships, and Books for Littles)
• Teaching With Current Events in Your Classroom (Facing History and Ourselves)
• Race and Ethnicity (Teaching Tolerance)
• Social Justice Resources (Children’s Community School)
• Systemic Racism Explained (act.tv)
• Just Mercy (Warner Bros.)

Resources for White Allies

• Mapping our Roles in a Social Change Ecosystem (Deepa Iyer, SolidarityIs and Building Movement Project)
• White Supremacy Culture (Showing Up for Racial Justice)
• Scaffolded Anti-Racist Resources and Curriculum

New Narratives: Reclaiming Asian Identity Through Story
Call for Artists: Unbound Visual Arts invites Boston-area Asian and Asian American creatives to submit work that explores notions of Asian identity within the U.S. Deadline: June 22, 2020.

Teaching for Equity and Justice: An Online Equity Summit
Facing History and Ourselves hosts the online seminar from July 20-23, 2020. Learn more.

Advocate for Arts Education during COVID-19
MassCreative offers some actions you can take.

NAAC Boston Virtual Socials
The Network for Arts Administrators of Color (NAAC) Boston hosts virtual socials every Tuesday from 5-7pm on Zoom. Learn more.

PBS to Address Race and Racism in America through Broadcast and Streaming Content

• June 5 at 9pm – Race Matters: America in Crisis: A PBS Newshour Special
• June 15 at 9pm –  American in Black and Blue 2020

Learn More.

Weekly Call with the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture
Each Friday from 3-4pm, the Mayor’s Office connects weekly (via video conference call) with local arts organizations to share a briefing on the coronavirus from the City, what resources are available to you, followed by time for you to voice your questions, concerns, and suggestions. Learn more.

Artists 14+

Radical Imagination for Racial Justice
MassArt and the City of Boston announced a $1.2 million award from the Surdna Foundation to support artists of color who live or work in Boston (artists of all ages 14+) who are excited to bring to life their visions of a racially just society. This three-year regranting program titled Radical Imagination for Racial Justice (RIRJ) is in partnership with MassArt and the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, who will distribute funds to artists seeking to advance racial justice through 260 collaborative projects in their communities.  Application deadline extended to July 8, 2020.

Teaching Artists

Nominations Open for 2020 ATA Awards
The Association of Teaching Artists Awards aim to increase the visibility of teaching artists working within the arts in education and community arts fields, and celebrate the organizations and institutions where they work as well as honor innovation in teaching artistry.  Nominations will be accepted for: Innovation in Teaching Artistry Award, Teaching Artist Ally Award, Distinguished Service to the Field Award. Teaching artists of any artistic discipline are eligible for consideration. Nominations will be accepted until June 5, 2020.  Submit a nomination.

Survey for Creative Workers + Artists
The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture for the City of Boston and MassCreative are gathering information about creative workers and artists in Massachusetts to help advocate for freelancers, gig workers, and the self-employed in our cultural communities to get the support they need. Complete the survey.

Teens and CYD Alums

Books of Hope
Young people ages 13-19 are encouraged to submit to the Massachusetts Youth Writers Anthology 2020. This will be a published collection of poems and other pieces of writing from young people. Submission deadline: May 30.

826 Boston
The 826 Boston Youth Literary Advisory Board is now accepting poems, narratives, essays, and original artwork about self-identity to be featured in a professionally bound book. Students who are residents of Boston in grades 7-12 are welcome to submit their writing or artwork. Submission deadline: June 7 by midnight. Submit your work.

CYD National Youth Network Meeting
Every Friday from 7-8:30pm (ET) the National Youth Network offers a space for and by young artists ages 13-24 from all across the United States, to check in with each other, and to share challenges and opportunities to thrive together. Meetings explore different ways to combine art forms and artistically express, share, and create. Register to join.

CYD Programs

Adapting Culminating Events for Right Now in Creative Youth Development
Respond to this short survey to share your strategies, ideas, and challenges. CultureThrive and The Clare Rose Foundation will share the creative ways that young people and the programs they are part of are being nimble. Everyone who responds to the survey will receive the survey findings.

US/UK Longitudinal Study
The University of Florida and University College London invites participation in a study on enforced social isolation and mental health – the psychosocial effects of quarantine during COVID-19.

Image: Woman making a 2D art work at the Care Center in Holyoke. Photo: Käthe Swaback.

The META Fellowship, a partnership between Mass Cultural Council and The Klarman Family Foundation, is the first program of its kind to convene a statewide community of music educators and teaching artists.

In an effort to make the learning of the Fellowship more broadly available, we are pleased to announce that the META Fellowship web site is now live. The site contains resources that were created to meet shared needs in classrooms throughout the Commonwealth and a list of professional development opportunities that Fellows utilized during the pilot program. As the second cohort of Fellows complete their Fellowship, more resources and tools will be added.

Read More