PROCESS

Meeting Artists’ Needs

Nationally, the Artists Thrive! Initiative is a network of artists and organizations exploring the activities, practices, language, visions and values underlying what it means to succeed and thrive as an artist, what it means to have a thriving arts sector and, eventually, what it means to have thriving communities. The initiative has developed assessment tools and frameworks to define and evaluate whether the conditions that enable artists to thrive are being met from the perspective of artists and arts organizations. The Artists Thrive tools are framed around a spectrum of performance that can guide improvements in conditions. ( https://artiststhrive.org/)

In Massachusetts, artist-led organizations are measuring and tracking conditions that allow artists to thrive in the Commonwealth. The Massachusetts Artists Leaders Coalition (MALC) and Artmorpheus, a Boston-based arts nonprofit, administered a survey of Massachusetts creative workers in 2009 and 2017. The 2009 survey and report, “Stand Up and Be Counted,” explored artists’ work lives, socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, and medical and non-medical debt. The 2017 survey and report, “By Artists, For Artists,” widened the scope of respondents to include makers, inventors, and designers; gathered information on artists’ demographics, health and wellness, employment, and professional development needs, among other topics. Both iterations of the survey featured healthcare questions prominently. The 2017 survey broadened the scope of questions to include prompts about occupational health, mental health, and general wellness. In administering the survey, MALC and Artmorpheus employed the online survey tool, Survey Gizmo, which is certified under HIPAA and EU/US Privacy Shield (which replaced Safe Harbor), meeting US and European Union privacy and security standards and provisions. The survey identified needs and recommendations in three areas: improving financial security and equality for artists, primarily through increasing public and private funding of the arts; promoting access to health care and government services for artists; and increasing the civic involvement of artists and creatives.

Small Business and Entrepreneurship Support

In the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation 2013 study entitled, “How Cities Can Nurtture Cultural Entreprenuers Ann Markusen outlines the following steps that municipalities can take to support small businesses and entrepreneurs in the cultural sector including:

1. Know who your artists are
2. Encourage convening and equipment-sharing artists’ centers
3. Develop sustainable artist studio and live/work buildings
4. Provide entrepreneurial training tailored to artists and designers
5. Build networking and marketing opportunities for artists
6. Embed artists in city development strategies
7. Partner with local arts and policy faculty for entrepreneurial research and training

Cultural Districts

Americans for the Arts defines cultural districts as “well-recognized, labeled areas of a city in which a high concentration of cultural facilities and programs serve as the main anchor of attraction.” As areas of clustered arts and cultural activity, cultural districts are often locations where planning and policy measures seek to both promote conditions where arts and culture can thrive and bolster economic development through arts and cultural activity. For more information, see the Cultural Districts (link to section).

The Massachusetts Cultural Council manages the state-designated cultural district program launched in 2011 for the Commonwealth. With nearly 50 designated cultural districts in municipalities across the state, the program has demonstrated the growing appreciation for arts and culture as a foundation for strengthening local downtowns and making more liveable places.