 Like an arrow, you fall back before we spring ahead Like a sparrow, we must fall before he flies Like the ocean, we hold all our secrets within And then we hurricane, make it ready, kept hidden Culture and history inside And when it starts to look rough Then we will turn pain to Wednesday grow And our hearts they flow And know it's just what art can do And we can change the world Change you, starts to look rough Return wants to be told Massachusetts and I'm an arts advocate because I believe arts can change the world I'm an arts advocate because creativity connects me with joy and with hope for the future My name is Brian Boyles, I'm from Northampton and I'm an arts advocate because creativity connects me with our past and helps us imagine our future My name is Justina Crawford from Boston and I'm an arts advocate because creativity connects me to communities who inspire me to be bold I'm Lynn Nichols from Gill and I'm an arts advocate because creativity connects me to traditions both past and new Sorry for the false start, my name is Lauren Wolk, I'm from Centerville and I'm an arts advocate because creativity connects me to my very best self My name is Declan McDermott from North Adams and I'm an arts advocate because creativity connects me to the culture and lives of those around me With Arts Emerson and HowlRound who's live streaming and I'm from Milton Massachusetts and I'm an arts advocate because creativity connects us to our common humanity Our common humanity Welcome everybody to Mass Creatives, Creating Connects Arts Advocacy Day Very good Here we are, thank you Alexis for your wonderful performance Alexis is here with us from Boston Arts Academy one of the most robust and comprehensive arts programs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Let's give her a hand It is great to see all of you here in the beautiful Paramount Center I'll be your emcee for the morning as we kick off Arts Advocacy Day Sound like a plan? Yeah So how many of you were here two years ago? I can't actually see you but that's okay You're here How many of you were here two years ago when we were here celebrating? Yes, great So you know that we have a good time as we spend this day together really celebrating all the things that we care about so deeply It said that service is the rent that we pay to live on this earth and I like many of you have chosen arts as my service I personally dedicated, yes that's right, I personally dedicated my life's work to leveraging arts to connect us more deeply to each other And it's as if Maya Angela was speaking for me when she said and I quote I believe in all of my work and in everything I do that we as humans are more alike than we are unalike And to use this statement to tear down the walls that we build between ourselves because we are different End quote And so I am here because I believe that arts has a powerful is a powerful tool to connecting us here That's mine to do but what's ours to do? We can build connections that only arts can actually do We have a role to play through our good work We can make clear the task to address the many issues that impact our communities At Arts Emerson we made a commitment several years ago to be a part of a citywide effort to foster civic transformation around race That's the work that we do a lot of the work that we put into the world reflects that commitment Again that's Arts Emerson's to do but what's ours to do together Whatever your work is we should be doing it together in consort with one another Like we're doing here today coming together as a sector to flex our muscles to show our political leaders that we as arts and arts community really matter in the state of Massachusetts So I am your official traffic cop and you'll see me throughout the entire day I will encourage you to move along, I will encourage you to take your seats or find your group So you will bear with me as I bear with you so I hope you won't tire of me I want to go through our agenda for today so please pull out your goldenrod sheet and follow along my goldenrod sheet that I left backstage but you have yours wave it high Yes we will spend the morning celebrating you members of the arts and cultural community We will share stories about the arts and cultural communities impact across the commonwealth and will give you everything you need to be an effective arts advocate at the state house Then we will march across Boston Common to the state house for meetings with legislators and gather together for a debrief This year we want to keep the celebration going so we hope you'll join us for an after party at Democracy Brewery where we can share our day's successes together Yes are you still with me great See I like to know that you're alive and well so you know little hoots and hollers every now and then really help keep things moving So please take out your phone we know everyone most everyone has one Take out your phone before we move on to the next part of the agenda Rachel Byrd mass creatives campaign organizer and I want us all to tell the outside world what is happening here today So I want everyone to use the phone and take a minute to write a post with a picture with hashtag creativity connects Feel free to use Twitter Facebook or Instagram and if you're not on social media get in a friend's photo and add your name to it So I'm going to take a picture of all of you so I just need a few house lights up here And while I'm taking a picture of you you do your hashtags and post to social media yes Okay you can talk amongst yourself as you do this Okay no I can't see anything Right so I have to post it so hashtag creativity connects this will take me a second On Twitter yes Okay uh-huh If I knew how to work with Twitter Okay I think last year or two years ago we were like trending we were doing quite well so let's try and keep that going this year let's see if it works Is it supposed to work? Do you see your tweets up there? Are they coming? They're coming yes Alright is that as you keep going Oh do you see something? Oh yeah there you go that's me right there see creativity connects You do it Make sure you tweet and post throughout the day here at the paramount in the March and after the legislative meetings You will see handles for speakers on the agenda and for legislators on the meeting list to include in your posts For every one of us who are here there are thousands who share our passion and know that arts matter to all of us here in the Commonwealth Yes are you still tweeting? Okay great now we're gonna keep going as you tweet so play attention and tweet at the same time Now it's my pleasure to welcome and introduce Lee Pelton the president of Emerson College to share a few remarks with us Yes I did tweet Hey good morning everyone how are you? So it's a real pleasure for me to be here with so many artists and art patrons and local supporters and staunch advocates For the arts and arts education and I want to thank Matt Wilson and all the people that mass created who were involved in making today happen Of course I want to thank all of you for being here and from Emerson I want to recognize David Howes Who just spoke and those that arts Emerson and how around as well as the Elma Lewis Center for Civic Engagement Learning and research in Emerson stage for their role in today's events Emerson is well known for excellence in the arts the communication and the liberal arts We educate young artists and communicators to become a creative force in the diverse fields that shape our culture and our society But it's not enough to prepare educated citizens for the 21st century we must prepare educated and engaged citizens As you heard from David earlier for the 21st century And we take seriously our responsibility as a leader in the community and the world And we pursue this vision by embracing excellence diversity inclusion co-joined with global and civic engagement Community organizations to support artists and art projects in the city including for example among a few the Asian Community Development Corporation There's humanities there's real abilities film festival in the Boston poetry festival and the last two poet laureates by the way Or in the city or graduates of Emerson College there you go I like that Our Elma Lewis Center inspires engagement and action by using the college's strengths and the communication and the arts to support social change And we are very proud of the work happening at our engagement lab which is the innovation hub focused on civic media For instance our researchers are currently working on working to develop and prototype smart city technology through the several local communities And Emerson is likewise committed to public arts programming through Emerson's Urban Arts Media Art Gallery Which is located here on Avery Street and if you haven't been there I suggest that you go see it just around the corner from us Indeed in Emerson education is an education rooted in creativity and critical thinking and collaboration and in communication Creativity critical thinking collaboration communication those four C's are the capacities that the world cannot get enough of in the 21st century And today we come together for an important cause and we begin on this stage which is named for the arts Emerson founder Robert Warchard Who has been a driving force in Boston's theater scene for more than four decades And so we come together today in support of the arts and support of collaboration and creativity And in support of the great need to use our collective and collaborative voices to advocate for the arts I need not tell you that we must invest in the arts because the arts matter The arts bring people together the arts connect diverse ideas and disciplines The art helps us to understand the world You know there are those who see the future and they run from it There are those who see the future and they hide from it And there are those who see the future and run towards it And the arts always will run towards the future something that we need so desperately We also know that arts boast the economy regional arts and cultural organizations Directly create more than a billion dollars a year in our local economy and provides almost 30,000 jobs And so today among many days this is a critical moment to make our voices heard To advocate for investing in the arts and to do it as effectively as possible Today you will have the opportunity to learn about and practice just that And I hope you will take what you learned today and apply it to the arts of course But also to advocate about issues which you are passionate so others may see incredible value of the arts The one message that I wanted you to take to the state house today Is that Massachusetts currently lacks a comprehensive and coordinated plan to support art, artists, and the vital institutions that support both These institutions rely on dwindling corporate support and private donations to bridge the gap between ticket revenue And the high cost of staging performances, events, and exhibitions Or they simply have to foot the bill themselves And that is the message that I want you to take today to the state house To remind our legislators that arts and artists build bridges and not walls And today we need you more than ever before So I thank you for participating in today's events Bundle up because there's a little chilly out there And thank you for all that you do to support, promote, and advance arts, the arts, and artists in our community Thank you very much Good morning Good morning up in the balcony My name is Matt Wilson and I'm the executive director of Mass Creative For the past six years Mass Creative has organized grassroots supporters like yourself of the arts Creative leaders, partner organizations, and working artists from around the Commonwealth to build a culture here in Massachusetts Where arts and creativity are expected, are recognized, and valued as a part of everyday life Today's Arts Advocacy Day, Creativity Connects, is a great example of how we at Mass Creative do our work With each of our projects and campaigns, our first step always is to collaborate with great partners So I want to extend a very warm thank you to the many people and organizations who really helped make today happen First of all the in-house entities of Emerson College and Arts Emerson for hosting us And howl around for live streaming this event and for the closed caption that they're providing And a special thanks to David for keeping us in line today Our legislative champions who you will be meeting over the course of the day State representatives Mary Keefe of Worcester, Paul McMurtry from Dedham, and State Senator Edward Kennedy of Lowell I want to thank all of our financial supporters who throughout the year keep us going from our 400 member organizations And individual members and our long-time foundation supporters And I'm really thrilled to thank our most recent supporters who have stepped up to specifically support this event The Cambridge Savings Bank and a number of community foundations who for the first time have stepped up to support the great statewide work that's being done The Cambridge Community Foundation, the Community Foundations of Southeastern Massachusetts, the Essex County Community Foundation The Greater Lowell Community Foundation, and the Trustees and Advisors Fund of the Foundation for Metro West So support from all across the state You have seen that it's really a village of volunteers here that are making, who are partnering with the staff today to make it all happen From the volunteers who you met at registration to our stellar board of directors who are helping in all phases of the day Both on stage and behind the scene to all our speakers and performers and to the captains who are holding those great signs who are going to lead us to the state house this afternoon And bottom line, we can't achieve anything that we're doing and the charge that President Pelton gave you without all of you Today we have representatives and working artists from over 235 distinct arts and cultural institutions from across the state Isn't that amazing? A broad set of folks From North Adams, right? Down to the Cape, all across the state We're incredibly grateful for all of you to work with so many talented partners who share our vision of a commonwealth in which creativity connects people And it's that phrase, creativity connects, which you're going to hear a lot about today It's not just a slogan, it's not just the title of this event, but it's a statement of truth When we have a creative experience, see a provocative play or visit a compelling exhibit We're able to connect to our world and to stand in other people's shoes to experience the world in a new and different way When we express our creativity, we connect with others who are singing, acting, dancing and drawing alongside us When we participate in local art walks, festivals, concerts and any of the many community events organized by local cultural councils Working artists and cultural institutions, we feel more connected with the special people around us Our friends, our family and our neighbors And we know that cities and towns with cultural districts and arts institutions that have been supported by our local and state government Find that residents are more connected across racial, ethnic and class divides Thanks to the additional opportunities to connect through community-based cultural events Well, none of this should be surprising to all of you You are creating these opportunities for connection and it's never been more important than it is today We are really living in divisive times More of us, myself included, feel isolated and divided by politics, by technology and by the growing gaps in income and wealth Technology can isolate us We can now do all of our shopping, all of our work, all of our banking, get all of our news, all by ourselves in front of our computer Without taking a step outside Our political leaders now see the benefit of developing platforms and delivering narratives that divide us rather than build community The historic social forces that have disadvantaged people of color, women, immigrants, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities and other oppressed groups Feel just as alive today as they have ever been And wealth disparity exacerbates all of this and continues to grow in the US, creating deeper divisions and chasms in our society We all need and we all crave connections to live happily, healthy and fulfilling lives Yet our society, and by our extension, our broader democracy is becoming increasingly isolated and disengaged So that's where we come in Our work creates connections. We are the change makers of today We're healers, we're educators, we're placemakers, we're placekeepers, we're entrepreneurs and storytellers Emerging research shows something we've long believed to be true Opportunities for creative expression are just as important to our well-being as adequate food, housing, income and a pursuit of meaningful work Sharing creative experiences and expressing creativities build powerful connections with the people we're closest to, our community and the world around us But we have a lot of work to do, as President Pelton talked about We have a lot of work to do with our political leaders to help them embed the work that we're doing Arts and creativity as a vital asset to addressing these issues here in the Commonwealth Today at the State House, you'll hear about what we're going to talk to our legislators and what our priorities are We'll be focusing on building support for public art, for increasing the Commonwealth's investment in the arts and creative community through the Mass Cultural Council's budget And the importance of arts education for our kids But there's going to be more over the course of the year Working with you and our partners, we're going to be working with all of you and our partners to develop a long-term campaign To significantly increase investments in the art through a dedicated and robust revenue stream at the state level We're going to work with a broad coalition of groups to ensure that all of us are counted through the 2020 census By working with you all in a statewide get-out-to-count campaign and make sure that every single one of us is counted and that we matter here in the Commonwealth And we're going to be assisting a group of energetic and passionate high school students here in Boston who are demanding real access to arts education here in the Boston High Schools So I want to thank you all for taking the day to come to Boston along with all of us The 350 or so of you who are here today and for the time you take each and every day to play such an important role in advocating to make our Commonwealth a better place I had the chance to meet a number of you over breakfast and I look forward to meeting you, meeting all of you here on the March at the State House and for a cold beer at Democracy Brewing So thank you for coming and I now want to introduce Anita Walker who for more than 11 years has been the executive director of the Mass Cultural Council She is working with her staff to strategically invest the steadily growing resources that the state is giving to the arts community across the Commonwealth to the creative sector So please welcome Anita Walker Everyone, are you psyched for today? It's Arts Advocacy Day! Alright, I'm going to ask you to do it. First of all, thank you Matt, thanks Max Creative, thanks for all of you for being here today I want you to do something right now, in the dark, I know it might be a little bit difficult, but I want you to turn to the person next to you and look them in the eye And smile Thank you. Oh, little lights up. Good This is a thing we call eye contact, let's never forget about it You know, I just read a book that says, it's contention, it's theory is that the bright side is not getting the attention it deserves Well I want you to know there is plenty of bright side and this room is full of it You are the bright side and you prove it every single day when you get up and go to work and even when you're not at work when you're at play You know, let's think about it. Let's think about how we transitioned from the manufacturing industrial economy into this wrenching change of the information age in the creative economy Who was there to pave the way? Who was there to make it right? You were When company towns folded up, the companies packed up and left thousands of families without their sole source of income It was you, the artist entrepreneur, who came in and filled up those empty storefronts and filled up those mill buildings When we were trying to understand how we were going to take innovation and replace manual labor It was the artist teachers in the schools who nurtured those creative minds and critical thinking skills so they'd be prepared for this creative economy When we were all trying to understand what is this big technological corporate world where move fast and break things, rigor and risk walk hand in hand The idea is that the economy, well you know what? Artists have known this since the beginning of time You are not only the basis, the foundation of the creative economy, you're the ones who make it sing Let's not forget what our own Robert Kennedy reminded us decades ago The health of our society is not measured solely by the gross national product It doesn't measure the things that make life worthwhile, the beauty of a poem, the intelligence of our public discourse, the integrity of our public officials And I think he'd let me add our sense of well-being, our collective wellness These are the things that are under threat today, the things that are the best of being human You know you can feel it in the air, there's sort of a permeating, ever-present sense of anxiety Let's call it what it is, anger, uncertainty, rage You know it's like a virus that spreads through social media, through our obsessions, focus on screens But it's a virus that's not spread by human contact On the contrary, human contact is the cure That is your superpower Our historians that connect us with the past so we can understand the present Our scientists that give us a telescope into the future And our artists who speak with empathy, connecting all of us That's what you do so well So you can imagine my shock on Sunday morning as I sat down, as I always do, to read the New York Times And here is a headline that says, human contact is becoming a luxury A luxury because technology's gotten so cheap, it can replace human contact So here's the story in the New York Times, it's about a guy by the name of Bill Langois from Lowell, Massachusetts He's a retiree, he spends a lot of his time at home with no one around, his wife is out and about And he had nobody to talk to So he tears up when he tells the story of the day when he got a companion, a cat That he named Sox after the Red Sox, of course But this cat is not a regular cat, this cat is an avatar This cat is a computer program This is a cat, an animated cat on a computer screen that speaks to him from operators Thousands of miles away in the Philippines with a voice that sounds like Siri And you know what Bill says? Having this cat with me makes me feel like there's someone around who cares Now you know, Bill is not unlike literally thousands of senior citizens who are isolated and alone Isolation that leads to depression You might be surprised that many of these seniors take themselves to hospital emergency rooms for the social interaction So, Humana, the giant insurance corporation sees seniors going to emergency rooms racking up medical bills And they're thinking, why don't we just give everybody one of these computer cats They've calculated that they can save as much as $90,000 per patient with a robotic cat I think we can do better than that I think you do better than that And I know that we are all doing better than that So let's just take a little trip across the pond to England Where this year doctors officially began what's called social prescribing They prescribe the arts It's an intervention for depression, it's an antidote to isolation They say to their patients, they literally write a script Go to the theater, go contemplate a work of art Write your way through your trauma The arts leads to wellness And people with low levels of wellness are sicker and have a lower life expectancy People who participate in the arts are 60% healthier than people who don't So the Brits have figured out that not only are the arts good for people, they're cost effective Do you know what they have discovered is the number one cost of expensive medical care for senior citizens over the age of 75 falling down So they prescribe ballet for strengthening and balance Now, you are all here today to get yourself revved up to go over to the state house And you're going to be talking to your legislators And you're going to be talking to your legislators about investing more in the arts and culture And do you know what they're going to say to you? I'm going to tell you this and email me if I'm wrong They're going to say to you, oh, we appreciate what you do We know how important your work is But you have to understand, the budget is so tight It's just so difficult to find new money And they're going to say, do you realize what the budget buster is in state revenue? The cost of, wait for it, health care It takes up 37% of the state budget We can't afford to do anything else Well, you might say, you know what, you can't afford not to Because the work of our museums and our theaters and our artists and our teaching artists They're not providing an animated robot with a disembodied voice thousands of miles away to people They're looking in their eyes, they're having a conversation They're improving wellness and they're lowering the cost of health care That's what you do So now I'm thinking about Bill in Lowell And I'd like to meet Bill, I haven't met Bill yet But I'm thinking that if I meet him, I'd say, Bill, I'm not going to take your cat away I know you already have a relationship with your cat But I would like to introduce you to a teaching artist Maybe one who can give you and your wife a dose of dance and human contact And a bit of the bright side Thank you so much for all you do and for your advocacy today Now you know that we have great champions on Beacon Hill And actually Massachusetts is the only state that has its own committee on tourism arts and cultural development This year we have new leadership on our committees And I am so honored and privileged to be able to introduce the senate leader of our committee Who happens to be from Lowell so maybe he can help me find Bill, senator Ed Kennedy Thank you very much Good morning to everybody and thank you for having me here today and allowing me to speak I was excited to find out that I had been chosen the senate chair of the committee on tourism arts and cultural development in Massachusetts Because I thought it meant that I could probably spend sessions holding hearings in Antarctica and Martha's Vineyard this summer I'm not sure that would fly But in all seriousness I am aware that tourism arts and culture is big business in Massachusetts With the tourism industry bringing in 20 billion dollars in direct spending into the state and employing 150,000 people across the Commonwealth And the arts and culture sector contributing a stunning 1 billion into the local economy annually supporting more than 73,000 jobs Despite the robust nature of these industries and the vibrance and increased quality of life they bring to our communities Dedicated funding sources remain scarce While California spends 120 million annually on destination marketing efforts Massachusetts allocates only 10 million less than half the national average This is an area where you need to spend money to make money and I believe we are missing out on significant revenue streams My hometown of Lowell began mocking itself as a home to artists several decades ago Arts and culture have been a key to the city's rebirth And hundreds of artists and creators who have moved to Lowell from the Boston area and other parts of the state and nation Since the time they have brought color, fun, insight and awareness to Lowell Their presence and work has been an economic engine and marketing hook for the city Their enthusiasm and willingness to get involved in civic life and local causes has increased the quality of life for all the Welleans I see the difference grant funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council makes in Lowell every day This year the Lowell Cultural Council granted $75,000 in grants to 28 artists, non-profit organizations, events and institutions The Lowell Cultural Council has made a variety of programs possible this year including Salsa in the Park Which provides free salsa dancing lessons in Lowell's North Common bringing life to a public park in the heart of the city's lowest income neighborhood Providing entertainment and building community, the Lowell Kinetic Sculpture Race Which brings STEM activities to life for children and adults of all ages as well as spectators and participants from around the region and across the country Bringing poetry and arts, programming to lowell public school students, programs which are often the first victims of budget cuts Funding Cambodian and African cultural programs bringing these groups to celebrate their heritage and keep it alive while introducing their customs and culture to those of us from other backgrounds And even funding the interpretation of cultural programming throughout the city in American Sign Language All of these programs and the dozens of others funded through the Cultural Council help make Lowell a vibrant city attracting visitors with money to spend and boosting the quality of life for residents of the city Statewide grant funding provides to local cultural councils by the Mass Cultural Council provides support to more than 6,000 artists, community groups and organizations annually many of whom would not be able to secure funding otherwise Lowell has been greatly transformed by this installation of public guide including many works by the prolific sculptor the late Miko Kaufman These works are just as important to the aesthetic of our downtown and the historic architecture in Lowell They make it a more inviting and interesting place to draw people to spaces that otherwise would be underutilized Drawing people out to public spaces builds community and pride in the neighborhood as well as reduces crime As the Senate Chair of Tourism, Arts and Cultural Development I look forward to helping Mass Creative advocate for their policy platform this session including allocating $18 million in funding for the Massachusetts Cultural Council And establishing the Massachusetts Public Guides Program Thank you very much I am delighted to have the opportunity to introduce our house chair who I've known as long as I've been here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts He is truly truly passionately and authentically as a board of the arts since he actually is involved in his spare time running an actual movie theater It's my pleasure to introduce Representative Paul McMurtry Good morning. Thank you very much Anita. How about a nice round of applause for Anita Walker She is well deserved. She is a great leader and advocate on behalf of the arts community and after all we are here in the theater and applause comes second hand And again for my colleague in the Senate, how about a nice round of applause for Senator Kennedy I look forward to working with him and my new role as the Chairman of Tourism Arts and Culture And I'm excited about the support that has been given to the arts community in the past and look forward to working this session in moving and advancing items that are important to you And I want to let you know it make no mistake it cannot be done with legislators alone or with executive directors as Anita Walker It's done in major part through the advocacy and the work of each and every one of you So today is an important day as you come up to Beacon Hill and advocate to your reps and senators and their staff for emphasizing the importance and the significance that arts have to you and to the community Mass creative also does an incredible job so I appreciate that you are all connected and working on their behalf of providing equal access as you all know with cultural engagement, education and creative expression Equal access is really the key phrase in the main goal and we unfortunately live in a time as we all know of limited resources and where the administrations and us in the legislature have to make difficult decisions And typically the arts programs are the first ones to be cut so we have to let legislators and my colleagues know at the state house that we need to make sure that we can continue funding We don't want to have students in the community suffer any longer as we cut individuals in our cities and towns off from that rich cultural history that the Commonwealth has to offer And the rich quality of life that exposing them to arts and the art experience We all know that the arts build bridges across communities, classes and ethnicities and it's an equalizer that definitely enhances cities and towns we live in And it provides countless opportunities for young people throughout the Commonwealth And for this reason and many others I'm certainly proud to serve on the committee and continue the work that Mass creative and the Mass Cultural Council and other important organizations continue to do I served many years ago as the house vice chair of the committee and now certainly and thrilled to be in the chairmanship position where we're able to continue to prioritize bills One of the bills in particular that I know you're all familiar with is house bill 2941 which was filed by my colleague representative Keith who chairs the cultural caucus at the state house It's the Massachusetts public arts program requesting $2 million in the creation and preservation of public art installation on state owned property So we've seen the success of these projects throughout the Commonwealth and we want to continue to advocate for those throughout on the state owned land So we know that these enhance communities and tourists and residents of the Commonwealth and we've seen 90 public art projects installed along six major lines of the MBTA We want to continue to engage the Mass Transportation Authority to bring some public art into their facilities and stations These projects not only add color and life to our public spaces but they add authenticity to sometimes drab transportation systems So as I mentioned I'm proud to be a sponsor of them and I look forward as a chair Anita mentioned in my other life or maybe previous life and the reason why I got into public service I have a similar art experience with owning an art house movie theater And when I was running for office some 12 years ago people said to me we'll vote for you as long as you keep that theater open That was my pledge back then I continued to support the arts and initiatives across the Commonwealth And I look forward to working with each and every one of you this session as we make sure that we emphasize to both our colleagues and the legislature And to the administration and the partnership we have with Lieutenant Governor Polito and Governor Baker on the importance of bringing arts to not only to our classrooms but to our communities And continue to make a difference and deliver back the incredible quality of life we have here in the Commonwealth And again make no mistake that's in all and proud to your efforts and I'm proud to work with you I'll see you back at the state house this afternoon Thank you for your advocacy and enjoy the rest of the morning Great. How's everybody doing? Yes good. Join me in thanking our speakers we had President Pelton, Matt Wilson and his team thank you for all that you do on behalf of our sector As well as Anita Walker and her team tireless advocates for the work that we're doing and it's also special thanks to Senator Kennedy and Representative McMurtry For their leadership in the state house it's great to have them here with us today and to have such wonderful leaders working on our behalf down the street So this morning we want to give you some information as I mentioned early on the trainings and some training for successful meetings First we'll introduce you to Mass Creative's policy platform and share two specific asks that we'll suggest that you make when you meet with your legislator Then we'll share some storytelling techniques and then finally we'll have Representative Mary Keith and advocates from Worcester put everything together and show us what a successful meeting looks like They'll cover sort of the four C's and I won't spend a lot of time going through those now because they'll demonstrate that a little bit later But the four C's are connect, context, commitment and catapult Connect meaning make a personal connection with your legislator then give some context share the impact of the arts and culture community in your city or town Commitment ask them to do something support to the asset we're going to suggest that's the Mass Cultural Council budget and the Mass Public Art Program bill And then finally catapult make a plan to follow up with your legislator on the commitments and sustaining a long term relationship with the legislature So we've got that coming in just a little while but before we move there we're fortunate as arts people to have wonderful artists in our myths And so now it's my pleasure to introduce Delana Morrison, Sidney Grant and Juan Arravalo from Central Square Youth Theater's, nope, Central Square Theater's Youth Underground So Act Up and Vote is a new work of investigative theater exploring voting civic engagement for young people and here's a sample My brother and I shared a room and it was on the second floor so every day multiple times a day I had to go up and down a staircase to get between our room and the kitchen or the bathroom or anything else downstairs And on that staircase were a ton of anti-war posters that my dad brought back from El Salvador and there's one that I will never forget, it's pink There's a woman on it, she's a mother with a child on her back and a rifle in her hand I would see these posters and they're beautiful, they're artwork, I always found it crazy thinking about my dad fighting in a war at 14 Fighting for the betterment of his family, for his people I grew up seeing these posters and I grew up knowing that my dad was fighting in a war as a child that he didn't want to be in And then he came here to this country to do anti-war work I believe that that fight is a part of me and has been my whole life I mean, I was that kid in the stroller going to protests with not only my parents but with the community committed to the belief that they can make a change By taking over the streets and believing that their voices and their bodies can influence others There's no other thing that I would do, I work with my heart and activism is in my blood I'm in fashion school and I spent my junior year in parents While I was there I had an acute episode which can happen because of my diagnosis with sickle cell And I had to be hospitalized in Paris for two weeks Unfortunately, a similar health crisis occurred a few years back when I was studying in New York City Even though I had some insurance, the outstanding balance was $14,000 I was hounded day and night by collection agencies to pay that amount I mean, as if, so you can imagine my stress about what this hospitalization was going to cost But no worries, my care was free, completely covered So now I'm on a mission, okay? Check it out It's a picture of a sickle cell in its unusual crescent shape and blood red form And now it's going to be a design motif on all of my clothing So I will not only be using fashion as a vehicle for self-expression But also as a way to bring attention to people like me People who have pre-existing conditions and are now at risk of being denied insurance Like, what is so messed up about America that we don't have a universal health care system like other developed nations? Thank you Because y'all, when you're hurting, politics becomes personal real fast You know? So is voting going to solve my problem? Like, really? Sometimes I think of moving to Paris because probably nobody is ever going to want to cover me here It was a protest against the gentrification of our neighborhood You know, sometimes developers come to community meetings and say, we want to hear from you This building is going up and we would like your input so we can make changes and know what you would like to see And blah blah blah and blah blah blah blah blah But I've noticed, oh no, I've noticed No one takes notes I mean, if you care and want to remember what is being said, you take notes They don't really care, but I do Because it's where I live, it's where most of my extended family lives It's where my friends live Our protest was to make sure that our concerns were heard There was a vote before the city council to raise the affordable housing rate from 15% to 20% And we wanted to make sure that it was going to pass But it was also about bringing attention to the need for more affordable housing in our neighborhood Take this note, okay? We want affordable housing that looks like it fits in our neighborhood We don't just want new high-rise apartment buildings where 20% of the people who can't afford the high rent get to live there But aren't really welcomed by the other residents Take this note in all caps We want a world in which we can be comfortable in our own home We want a world where we can imagine a future We're young, and we want to be able to afford to live here when we're older, like 30, you know? And even raise our families and, you know, where we grew up And this note to my friends, I see you Don't just sit on your couch and do nothing But wait, it's your time Claim your space Act up and vote Do you want to say that? My name is Emily Ruddick and I am the director of policy and government affairs at Mass Creative And it is a true thrill to be standing on this stage Because in 2015, Matt Wilson asked a newly hired Lynn Downtown Cultural District Director to speak at the first Arts Advocacy Day And now to see this room packed with people To see us all excited about this work And to be a part of it is truly thrilling So thank you for indulging me for a moment So my charge at Mass Creative is taking and thinking about all the stories All the things that we do well And all the things that we need to do better And to work with our community, with our leaders, with our partners To think about what are the policies And what are the changes that we need to make a difference So I am really pleased to unveil the 2019-2020 policy platform Pretty fancy animated slide We worked with our board, our policy committee Our leadership council with artists across the Commonwealth To think about how we can arrange our work To think through five realms of impact Both in terms of what we can bring to the Commonwealth And what we need to do better The first one is happy and healthy people Opportunities for cultural engagement and creative expression Are just as integral as social well-being As adequate food, housing, income And the opportunity to pursue meaningful activities The second, equal access and opportunities for participation Everyone in Massachusetts has the right to experience creativity and culture Express themselves creatively And see their culture reflected in artistic expression Connected communities Community-based art programs Build bridges across ethnic and class divides Connect people throughout their communities Access to a well-rounded education For all students and young people Arts education enhances student achievement Across all subjects It cultivates the creative mindset That leads to success in the 20th century workplace But it also increases civic engagement And leadership Respect and support for the creative workforce and economy This one I think is the one that we really need to think about today Massachusetts' creative and cultural sector is a vital contributor To the Commonwealth's economy And we need to pursue policies that make sure we have the support And the room to do our best work So in the coming weeks and months You will see on Mass Creative's website more information More policy suggestions More connections with other partner organizations That we're working with to drive our agenda and their agenda forward But I thought it might be useful to hear from four individuals Who are working in these realms And can share a little bit about how they impact their communities So I would like to welcome to the stage Carrie from Shelter Music Who will talk about health and wellness Thank you, Carrie Super bright up here So that's me and I'm an Emerson alum So this is a... Thank you, thank you So this is a really cool intersection of my past and my present And at Shelter Music Boston We believe that everyone deserves access to the passion Dignity and creativity of classical music Whether or not they have a home So if you can get behind that idea Give a shout out Thank you That's why we're all here, right? So because of this belief Our team of professional musicians perform classical chamber music concerts Each month in homeless shelters, recovery centers And an after-school program throughout Greater Boston We bring full-length concerts directly to people Who need the transformational power of music the most Last year we performed nearly 90 concerts For about 2,000 audience members Our innovative programming spans the centuries A range of composers, different styles of classical music All with the goal of evoking a range of emotions for our audiences We even created a suite of new music In collaboration with our audiences Which was amazing And while the music is critical to our mission The concerts really become a catalyst for the respectful And dignified human connections that happen from start to finish In our performances And that's something that our audiences don't get much of In their circumstances So I'm sure many of you know that there's a lot of research Out there that points to the healing effects of music In treating depression, anxiety, insomnia, pain Dementia, on and on And we see this at Shelter Music Boston time and time again In the way our audiences respond to our concerts We administer short surveys after each of our concerts And I thought what better way to illustrate The immediate and positive impact of music and our model Than by sharing some of those comments with you And we've collected over hundreds of comments in our history These comments are just a few from February of this year Actually when we had a concert that featured a violin and flute duo Including a handmade Native American flute That was wildly popular with our audiences So I want to share a few of these comments, like I said So after one of the concerts A listener indicated feeling that all my problems were gone And I could deal with them That's pretty remarkable Another listener felt stressed before the concert And hopeful after Another told us that they felt very stressed Anxiety, fear before the concert And after felt relaxed, at peace, and happy I like this one, I like them all but I like this one Another listener shared that before the concert They had a headache and they were very tired And after they were energized and without the headache We've got tons of comments about people who come in with pain Before a concert and leave without that pain Which I think is incredible A couple of very simple but poignant comments Were that a listener felt depressed before the concert And calm after Another felt sad and hurt before the concert And better after Another listener wrote honestly that before the concert He felt anxious and truly did not want to sit through classical music being played We get that, we hear that Yet after he wrote that he felt amazing, relaxed, and very happy A huge difference in how I felt Truly was a gift, thank you from the bottom of my heart Another listener, when asked what they enjoyed the most about the concert Wrote, happy brings back memories of school You are awesome, continue to do what you do Music is therapeutic, doctor recommended So I'm thinking back to what Anita told us earlier About what they're doing in the UK And if doctors here would just prescribe music, arts, arts therapy I think we would be in better shape I don't know if this photo has already come up But this is... Anyway, you may have seen it One of my favorite SMB photos is our founder Julie Levin Talking with a young man after a shelter concert And this actually happened a few years ago So not from February But the picture, they're kind of looking at his phone They're talking animatively about music And I overheard him telling Julie That he had been going through a detox And he hadn't been getting much sleep Because he had heard our concert and our music He felt confident that he was going to sleep that night And that comment has really stuck with me And it has always felt very powerful to me About the impact of our music and what our program does So I could read comments to you all day But I hope I've given you not only a flavor For what Shelter Music Boston does But that I've made a compelling case And I know that I am preaching to the converts here But that I've made a compelling case That the arts are as necessary to our overall well-being As food, shelter, clothing, income, housing All the things that the happy and healthy People platform suggests And that's why we need more support For the creative community And that's why we're all here today And that's why I'm here today So thanks for having me Thank you, Carrie I'd like to welcome Catherine Morris to the stage Before I start I'm going to ask everyone to turn to their neighbor And say good morning Good morning Good morning We're going to do church today Okay My name is Catherine Morris I'm the founder of Boston Art Music SoulFest Yeah For those that don't know We are a non-profit that strives to break down Racial and social barriers Arts, music, and culture For marginalized communities And artists of color across greater Boston And about eight years ago I had a dream And that dream was to come back home to Boston After going to school And start a festival that represented And celebrated the contributions And impact and influence of black artistry To this city Because there's been a history of neglect Oversight and undervaluing What black artistry has done for this city There's a quote that an elder in the community Shared with me when I started my journey And it's a quote from Nina Simone So I'm going to paraphrase But the line is It is an artist's responsibility to reflect at times Part of that is As consumers and as advocates We have a responsibility to support The artists to reflect The times that they live in And that comes from transparency Funding Being there Physically, mentally Sending an email, a chat, a tweet Checking in on an artist Because I know as I've experienced That creativity can be a lonely process So In 2014 I started Bantz Festival I wanted to activate Franklin Park Because it's underutilized It's the largest green space That connects six or more neighborhoods And I felt like it just needed A little bit of umph And in this process I learned from many different artists About the struggles Of what it means to be an entrepreneur In this city I can't do what artists do But I can advocate and support Their platform So I created my own And in that process Of listening to different artists I realized there are some things That they needed Basic things There's a lot of artists in the room That may have not gotten May have not received their degrees But they discovered that they have A passion And a talent And a gift And they just need a little bit of help To perfect it To be better To be stable To be healthy Now again, I'm not an artist But I'm pretty well connected To crazy people And all I have to do Is open my mouth And say Hey, you should connect to this person And what I started to learn Was a series of relationships In a new ecosystem That I was creating And I didn't even know it Just from watching other artists So to date We work with 180 artists Of color across Boston Yes We have mobilized Over 5,000 people Through all of our events We have partnered with 16 venues We have worked with Over 60 organizations And businesses And businesses to Really help perpetuate And push forward the notion That all artistry Is our artistry And it is important today That when you go to the state house Please let them know That the clothes that they wear The building that they walk in The car that they drive The color palettes that they chose Were designed by artists So I thank you all Have a good morning Thank you very much Priscilla Cain Hellick Will you please join us up? Hi everybody Wow I am delighted to be here today To speak on behalf of arts and education Which has been in my heart and soul For as long as I've lived We need equal access To a well-rounded education for all My name is Priscilla Cain Hellick I'm the executive director Of Enchanted Circle Theater We're based in Holyoke, Massachusetts Yeah And I'm here to say That arts and education Is alive and well In western Massachusetts Enchanted Circle is a multi-service Arts organization That is dedicated to engaging Enhancing and inspiring learning Through the arts We were founded in 1976 So a long time ago For a small arts organization Individually run To be dedicated to community service We have been pioneers In the field of arts integration And creative youth development Transforming the learning experience For people of all ages and abilities The work we do is serious business We bring joy back into learning Enchanted Circle uses theater arts As a dynamic teaching tool To engage active and creative learning We work directly In the public school classroom Pre-school through high school Bringing project-based arts integrated Learning into math and science And social studies and English language arts We engage students in their own Creative learning process And surprise, surprise Attendance records go up Scores go up And behavior issues go down Education is the social justice issue We imagine what happens in the classroom When arts integrated math happens And students start physically embodying Isosceles triangles together When they become parallelograms together Imagine in a living history program Where students are researching and writing And ultimately performing their own Original plays on the Trail of Tears On child labor in the industrial realm Imagine from STEM to STEAM How the arts and creative expression Ignites students' ideas and enable them To create solutions to tomorrow's challenges These are never-to-be-forgotten experiences Our students want to come to school Enchanted Circle also works in special education And residential and school-based programs For youth with cognitive and behavioral challenges Focusing on life skills, communication, collaboration Creative problem-solving These are life skills through the arts That prepare all of our children For life beyond the classroom And we work in creative youth development In the juvenile justice system With youth in foster care Developing their capacity to connect with others And giving them a platform to have their voices heard And awakening them, that relationship And a sense of purpose in connecting To the world around them We have a program called Youth Truth Funded for many years through the Mass Cultural Council These are youth ages 14 to 24 Whose lives have been impacted by foster care Well, Destiny has been with us now for five years She's lived in 24 homes in her 19 years Youth Truth has become her home, her family Where she learned to trust Where she learned to imagine what could be Where she learned to communicate her hopes And her fears and her dreams And to reach out to connect with others So Destiny now is a freshman at Holyoke Community College And she is a leader in Youth Truth And she is working to help us Re-envision foster care in America To Destiny! We are serving an essential need In fostering creative and critical thinking For many of the most marginalized youth And underserved children and families in Massachusetts Enchanted Circle serves all four counties in western Massachusetts In 2018, we facilitated 32 unique programs And several of these are programs That go from September through June Every Wednesday is Enchanted Circle Day We are serving 4,400 students and teachers In 102 classrooms We've worked with 1,600 youth and families In creative youth development programs And have inspired over 3,500 audience members Through our performance and public art displays Enchanted Circle works in close partnership With 25 school districts Developing programs with superintendents And curriculum directors and teachers and students Really instilling that sense of internal leadership Because it is relationship and it is all about What we can do together This transformational process That bridges arts, education, and social services We create equal access to arts-inspired learning Providing meaningful, accessible, and culturally relevant programs And bringing the joy back into learning Well, I'm very proud to say that as of last week The superintendent of schools in Holyoke Committed to a three-year arts plan process Where he is working to make arts learning the norm In Holyoke public schools We have developed absolutely It's a long time coming This plan, as this task force will be coming together Will be coordinating arts programs Arts education, K to 12 throughout the district Actually pre-K to 12, because it's now universal Pre-K in Holyoke It involves professional development for teachers To give them the capacity to integrate the arts In little and big ways every day in their classrooms And a comprehensive plan To work with community partners Because it does take a village to raise our children And give them equal access to the arts So this afternoon, when we are in Speaking with our state senators and representatives Ask them where they stand on arts education Let them know how passionate you are About how the arts transform lives And ask them to help us bring learning alive For children and youth all over Massachusetts Thank you, Mass Creative, for helping us Advocate and organize And thank you, Mass Cultural Council For supporting and leading the way We are all in this together Thank you Thank you, Priscilla I am filling in for our next speaker Who couldn't join us today, Tracy Who is a public artist based in New Bedford She was going to talk about the role The public art plays in stronger communities And connected neighborhoods One of the things that we are going to ask you today To talk about with your legislators Is the Massachusetts Public Art Program Which is in your packets in this lovely shade of blue This bill, which has been filed on the senate side By Senator Adam Hines and on the House side By Representative Mary Keefe Would establish a fund to both maintain And preserve our existing public art in Massachusetts But create more public art Created by artists of Massachusetts Selected by a commission of us Of Massachusetts residents We are the only state in New England Who doesn't have a public art program And we've already seen how percent for art programs Like this one in Boston Have changed the amount of public art And the amount of people included in the process Of public art So I hope you will talk about this today With your legislators And we thank you for your advocacy And finally, I am going to welcome Rebecca Wright from the Fitchburg Art Museum It is bright Good morning It's great to see everyone here In support of arts and creativity in our communities I'm proud to represent the Fitchburg Art Museum We are a catalyst for learning, creativity And community building Fitchburg Art Museum is a mid-sized art museum In Fitchburg mass A city with a rich industrial heritage That has struggled economically in recent years And is starting to turn around Like Lowell, like New Bedford Like so many others with the help of the arts About six years ago Our board hired Nick Capasso, our director With a mandate for the museum to be relevant Accessible and of service to the community Both locally and regionally One of the first things Nick did Was launch our bilingual initiative To welcome the large and growing percentage Of our city that is made up of Spanish-speaking residents Banners on our building proclaim Famous for everyone And welcome in English and Spanish All exhibition labels and signage Are in English and Spanish Changing every time we open a new exhibition We partner with local immigrant services Organizations on programs We feature Latino art and artists In our exhibitions And we welcome visitors with a bilingual receptionist And bilingual docents We have also made a commitment To free and reduced admission programs Especially for groups who may have felt excluded In the past, including the Mass Cultural Council's EBT Card to Culture program More than 50% of our visitors Benefit from free or reduced admission Made possible by partnerships and grant funding We have a community gallery where any community group Can hold an exhibition at no charge First come, first serve This validates the creativity of everyday artists From all walks of life And has introduced us to new groups Just recently, The No Evil Project in Worcester And IG Central Mass Grassroots arts organizations With equity and inclusion missions Who we hope to work with again in the future At the same time, we continue to present An active program of exhibitions Of New England contemporary art Incorporating local and regional artists Which we strive to keep relevant To our audiences With our small entrepreneurial staff We are able to be nimble And find a changing circumstances and opportunities Recently, we are reorienting From our traditional art classes To devote our time and resources To programs that meet newly identified Needs in the community We've recently begun a partnership With the Worcester County Sheriff's Department To provide therapeutic art programs To people in recovery from opioid addiction This spring, we are launching A partnership with Head Start To provide early childhood arts experiences In the museum for preschoolers From at-risk communities We also offer programs for people With Alzheimer's and their caregivers Among others We are very proud to have the UP designation Which stands for universal participation Through the Mass Cultural Council In recognition of our access programs UP recognizes and celebrates All efforts to reduce barriers to access For audiences who may not have felt welcome In the past The Mass Cultural Council recognizes And also supports our work in the community We receive funding from the Mass Cultural Council Through its CIP program Through local cultural councils That support our regional exhibition And through the Mass Cultural Facilities Fund We also benefit from state funding Indirectly through partnership With non-arts organizations Who we work with on creative economy initiatives To help revitalize the city of Fitchburg We are fortunate to have Active and engaged elected representatives Who are our friends Who come to our events And recognize the value of the arts And creativity in our community And in our everyday lives They bring that enthusiasm And support to Beacon Hill And we are going to meet with them this afternoon Our success in service Our success in serving the community Is due to strong, focused leadership With alignment between board and staff And community stakeholders On our purpose and strategic goals Developing programs That are responsive to the community Means that people of diverse ages Abilities and ethnicities Feel welcome at the Fitchburg Art Museum This is who we are The leadership and support Of the Mass Cultural Council And the state agencies creates an environment Where this work is possible and encouraged When we all Provide opportunities For people to grow and learn Express their natural creativity Build relationships And create lasting memories That improves the quality of life In our communities And impacts everyone in our communities Let's go raise up the support of the arts And the Mass Cultural Council With our legislators this afternoon Thank you Thank you all for it Thank you for your remarks I am always impressed with the stories Of how we as a creative community Do so much with sometimes so little We know how to stretch a dollar More than anyone or any sector But that's not enough And we know that We know that right now There are artists who are facing eviction There are groups that aren't able To find performance space or venue space We know that there are young people Who are not receiving arts education classes Arts classes in their classroom Because it's just not possible Because of budget and because of the money So today's the day where we come together And we walk to the state house And share just how important this issue is With our elected officials But I want to remind you that obviously It's not just today Every day we can be part Of the advocacy work and tell our story About why what we do matters And how it is transformational And I know no better group To tell that story Than the group I'm about to introduce on stage So please welcome Maurice Parent Executive director of Front Porch Arts Collective And his team of storytellers Hello, parents! I am Yvonita Nguirirba I am Caroline David Meg Rachel Katie Tracy Nikki Pat Audrey Harold I am happy to be here with you today This is awesome! I am an actor, director, arts educator living In Roxbury, Massachusetts I am an everyday piece artist from Rwanda I am studying arts management and living in here I am the executive director of Katoot Center For the Arts on Cape Cod Museum educator, author, and poet From Boston and Northampton A sculptor and maker from the Crossroads Cultural District in Greenfield Community organizer from Jamaica Plain I'm an editor with the Massachusetts Voter Table I lead the network for arts Administrators of color at Arts Boston The interim executive director At the theater offensive College theater professor I am the co-founder of the Frontports Arts Collective And a mass creative board member Before I found the arts I was a shy, insecure, gay kid Living in a religious family Being told that everything I felt and believed Was wrong and damnable I had my voice I lived my true life Afraid of being found out And I didn't feel at home or safe In the one place where you're supposed to feel home and safe With your family I was alone Destined to live a life in the heartland On the family farm, void of music, art, and culture I was raised with pens, paintbrushes And puppets in my hands I honestly don't know what to mean without them I was suffering through a period Of dark depression and grief I was feeling unsure how I'd survive financially With my theater performance degree I had a lot of energy That I didn't know what to do with I was like a screamer student Struggling to reconcile My immigrant parents' dreams with my own I was questioning my identity and my purpose I was unsure about my cultural identity I was starting a primary school Just a few months after the genocide Repetrated against the Turks in Rwanda Which I survived Most of the day school I could be memory The voices of men and children That I have seen being marked Or the voices of women That I have seen being raped I always wanted justice for them Then I saw my first play It was a musical at my elementary school And I thought I could do that My orchestra and I booked the gig And then began my life as an artist and an actor Then I started a theater club And we started the process of unity And because of the issue Then I met my third grade public school music teacher I had a great music teacher, Mr. Jacket Who told me that I could use music To figure out who I was I met Vicki Washington, my cultural mother High school theater teacher I became a parent I bought an old department store And turned it into an art gallery I met Salem local creative entrepreneur John Andrews And now I get to work with hundreds of creative entrepreneurs Every day I pursued what made me happiest I got a job at NASA I tried track and field I tried basketball And then I saw a poster for 12 angry men On the wall outside my cafeteria And I found theater Then I met people with stories like my own Now I am living my truth in my passion every day I found love and acceptance from my found family And my given family And I am blessed to inspire others to do the same every day Now I use theater and storytelling As the tools to prevent the intergenerational transmission of pain Now I look people in the eye Now I am immersed in music, theater and art every day Now I am committed to giving my son the same sense of self Of home and of happiness In a world full of art, music, history and imagination Now I feel alive and spiritually awake every day Now I spend my days promoting artist projects And initiating collaborations Now I am a community organizer An organizer who knits together the stories With the common thread of the dreams of a better world Now I see firsthand how students use art To create beauty and solve problems And how it saves them Now I am a culture bearer Now I lead a life more interesting than I ever could have imagined Now we are arts advocates We believe in art and creativity I believe art, arts give voice to the voiceless Home to those that feel they don't belong Feel community for those that feel isolated Teach us empathy and compassion for those Who can't see beyond their own struggles I believe art is the most powerful tool To revive the empathy that is lost In our everyday suffering Liberty gives children confidence I believe the arts will lead the way To revitalize my small town I believe arts bring us together across borders I believe the arts make us resilient Art tells stories of a world just within reach And this divisive political moment We need to connect with our neighbors And hear the stories of art being told in the media I believe art allows us to reclaim our identity I believe arts change lives I believe arts are as important as the air we breathe And the food we eat We know creativity and arts help our students, neighborhoods And our Massachusetts to thrive Creativity connects us Arts matter Creativity connects us Arts matter Creativity connects us Arts matter Creativity connects us Arts matter Creativity connects us Arts matter Creativity connects us Arts matter Creativity connects us Arts matter I invite you all now to pull the green sheet out of your packet I can see about half of y'all and I see y'all doing it Okay, now I see you all Pull out the green sheet It says public narrative on it And it's at the top of your storytelling section So what we're going to do now Is have you take a minute to fill it out Then turn to the person next to you And practice telling your story In three minutes, and I'm a timey, I got my cell phone I'll remind you to switch We all need practice at this So find a new friend, share your story And this is in preparation for when you go to the state house Let's share our stories and create some change Thank you I wish I had some music to play or something I feel like I'm proctoring a final exam at a university It's amazing Everyone's so studious and into it This is beautiful And as soon as you feel ready Find a neighbor, someone you don't know, and start sharing Or if it's someone you do know, that's fine In about one minute, I'll invite you all to switch All right, and if you've been sharing Maybe this is a time for the other person to start sharing So switch, once you've wrapped it up About one more minute All right, if we can start wrapping up the conversations All right, thank you Thank you all Give yourselves a round of applause So I want you all to breathe in the experience you just had Hearing other stories, sharing your own And breathe in the power that has The effects it made on you And those that were listening And remember that today when you go speak to your representative The power of telling your story And coming from an honest, true place Exactly what art has meant to your life Your constituents and those you reach every day Thank you all And this is, you've practiced a little bit But now we're going to use the next part of our gathering today To talk about how to transform those stories into successful meetings You've been in these meetings where we go on and on and on and on We tell the stories of stories going on And we never get to the ask, right And so we want to talk about how we want to structure that in a way Because we have a short amount of time to use those stories As a launching pad to the questions that you want to engage the legislators on And so to do that we have a group of people to demonstrate for us And I'd like for you to join me and welcome me to the stage Representative Mary Keith of Worcester And co-chair of the Cultural Caucus, hold please Erin Williams, Che Anderson, Lisa Drexage Hank, Fonhelian and Yaffa Fane to show us how a successful meeting goes Now, please join me Hi Erin Thanks for having us We brought our Worcester contingent in today Wow Lisa Drexage Hi How well Worcester is Che Anderson Che Hi Fonhelian and Yaffa Fane Yaffa, thank you Some of us, this is our first experience And it's such a gorgeous menu We love singing Don't tell me Well we're here as part of Arts Matter Day Mass Creative has been advocating and bringing all the creative community together For a number of years And you have been one of our biggest champions So we just want to give a shout out for all the great work That you've done with the Arts and Culture Caucus Being one of the co-chairs on that And Rep Keith has also led the charge For the Mass Cultural Council budget Let's give a shout out for that And most importantly, she is an artist And she'll tell us more about that later, I'm sure But she has creativity in all her bones So we wanted to come and share with you a little today About some of our own personal experiences Worcester and greater Worcester era Well some of you I know But I know you want sort of a superficial level So it's always great to go deeper And to figure out why you're here That's right Why this is important to you And for me to get to know you better So go ahead So we thought we'd do a little storytelling Sure, sure And Lisa is going to start us off And give us a little of her her story My name is Lisa Drexage My day job is a project manager For the Worcester Business Development Corporation And essentially I work in the physical realm Of infrastructure and building development And how to improve places on that level But through my journey in that position I discovered that what makes a community is the people And part of what makes a community vital Is the public art and the art in general That is within the various communities Throughout the city of Worcester So I'm very thankful for your support For the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund My company has benefited from that program We received a couple of grants To fit out the Worcester pop-up Which is a community gallery Run by the Worcester Cultural Coalition As well as a black box theater Which are really important projects To the downtown revitalization For Worcester, Massachusetts In addition, I'm an organizer From Powwow Worcester Now in our fourth year And we're very excited to keep adding To our art portfolio We have over 115 pieces of public art We also have over 50 of those pieces On the Worcester public school system We believe great public art should be available To any community in the city of Worcester And so we're really grateful for your past support And we love your support to fund The Massachusetts Cultural Council To its fullest level, $18 million As well as to propose and support The Massachusetts Public Art Program That would basically help us create, maintain And preserve the beautiful public art That exists throughout the city of Worcester And the Commonwealth, thank you Great, Lisa I just have to say Everything that you talked about Is actually happening mostly in my district So if you think about the 15th Worcester It's most of downtown And goes across the city So it's really exciting I feel like it's home in terms of A lot of what's bubbling up in Worcester And creative excitement So thanks for all you do And great to see it grow Hey there, Rep So I know you're pretty well But again, I'm Che Anderson I work for the city manager In the city of Worcester Doing special events permitting Event programming And other duties as assigned I think is what most of it is You folks know what that's like And I'm actually Originally from New York City, New York So I'm one of the many college students That found their way to Massachusetts And chose to call Massachusetts home now Holy Cross That's where I went And so really excited to be here And honestly, arts and culture Is one of the reasons I stay here I found my passion about a year and a half After graduating college in public art And finding an opportunity to work with the city Through the public art working group And other exciting initiatives like that Led me to finding some folks like Lisa And joining the powwow Worcester team To bring more public art to different communities In Worcester, not just downtown But throughout the city To some underserved populations And because of the work that you folks Are able to do at the state house Here at City Hall We look to mimic some of those efforts And put more monies into funding Public art initiatives Youth opportunities, youth education And really showing that Worcester Though it's the heart of Central Massachusetts Can be the heart and upper center Of a lot of arts and culture as well So thank you for your leadership And excited to be here Thanks, and back to the city manager I just think he's done a great job You know, in terms of seeing those opportunities Sometimes you really have to paint the picture For people and lead them down the path But our city manager seems to see art Is really central to everything That's happening in Worcester So thanks to you as well Being part of that So great I should have done that sooner Probably Good morning My name is Hank von Hellen I am the managing director of the Worcester pop-up That Lisa mentioned earlier I'm also an artist in Worcester I'm also one of the organizers For Powwow Worcester I'm on a bunch of boards And sort of art related Kind of advocacy sort of things But for me, I think That the reason why art matters The reason why the work that we do And everyone in this room does is important Is because it empowers It creates opportunities for artists For entrepreneurs For people in the community That really have a voice That don't have necessarily a platform for that And we help provide that So through the work that I do At the Worcester pop-up We're about to celebrate Our one year anniversary, April 13th Which is also my birthday So that's where I spent That's where I spent my birthday last year Working You know what, just happenstance But over the course of the last year We have helped to support Over 120 events at this point Local artists, entrepreneurs Creative institutions, cultural institutions Educational institutions We've seen over I think at this point Over 2,500 people come through our door Specifically to come And participate in these events Between our social media and our website And our sort of promotional efforts We've reached close to 20,000 people In a short time and so The fact is that this kind of work The support that you and folks Like yourselves sort of give us matters And it has a very sort of quantifiable Positive impact on the community And on city building So, thank you You know what I love about the pop-up Is it's so democratic It's really accessible to anyone And everyone, you know And that's awesome Because I think a lot of times Things emerge and they become Only for a few people But this is something that's really There and open And you really get that feeling It's exciting, it's exciting It was definitely one of the The major points that we want to sort of emphasize When we open the space is that this While we do sort of have our doors open to everyone Including organizations that have been doing this forever We really wanted to target the folks That were either brand new at this Or still really learning about the business of Art, how to promote yourself How to really build your brand, your business Your demographic And so, thank you I just committed on Facebook To an event that's coming up In April Stone Soup is having a film festival On gentrification And that's something artists have to think about Because a lot of times when we see our Communities advance We see them outpricing The people that really made it a great place So how do we do some of that as well So, I'm just excited It's particularly important in a city like Worcester Where because we're going through this Crazy sort of growth spurt These are issues that we have to address And the community is doing An amazing job of addressing that And really making themselves heard They're great Hi there, good morning I'm Yaffa Fain I'm with the city's cultural development division And to tell a little bit about my story I moved to Worcester to attend Clark University And something that I appreciated About that institution Is their social justice orientation And what I was fortunate enough to do Is in turn with the city In the cultural development division And that transitioned into a full-time role For me, so as someone who's Always been creative and invested In arts and culture and community Having the opportunity to intern And the funding that was available To participate in city governance Made it possible for me to stay in Worcester And then work full-time So I think that definitely speaks to The importance of making opportunities For there to be young people Who are involved in the community And then develop their interests and passion For creativity Are you working together? Yes, we're all creatives Embedded in City Hall Okay, okay, great We are very... We try to go under the radar And make a big splash In fact, we're celebrating Robert Goddard The first person to create the rocket And so we are exploding This next year with all kinds of Cultural activity Sounds like a blast Alright, well, I'm out So we just want to emphasize The fact that With leadership like yours And in our municipality And hopefully all your municipalities People come to understand That arts aren't just nice Yeah They're necessary I'd like to say I'd like to say I'd like to say Not extra, but essential Exactly So what does that mean? That means all of us Need to be thinking broader And that's the mass creative platform In conjunction with the mass cultural council And the local cultural council program The most democratic program In the country Giving every community in town monies To allocate out five to one return But we need to Be thinking about arts in Our streetscapes and education In public art In marketing our communities And equity Equity for all That's really the most important thing In our community today And I hope all of your communities Are looking at the lens of Well, who are we as a community And what are we striving for We should always all be reaching And learning more As a president for that Would you mind telling a little bit about Your own story of reaching And how you got involved In your position? Well, I'm a graduate of Mass College of Art And It's interesting How strong a thread That has been in my life I don't think I knew it at the time When I started at Mass Art I majored in printmaking We had no gymnasium No cafeteria, nothing like that But our tuition was $250 a semester You know And everybody commuted in Or found a cheap place to live And things are a little different in the city now And for students especially But we need to Think about that And how do we keep it affordable And not a risky thing To do, but a great thing to do To pursue the arts As a formal piece of higher education But then it goes back to Incorporating that into education As essential All of that And to go on Later on in my life I was an educator in public schools And then I taught at the Worcester Art Museum I had three children of my own And I hope they think that arts Are pretty important to them too And I was able to keep My own hand in In terms of doing my own artwork But Probably about 15 years ago I joined a group of printmakers in Worcester Affiliated With the Blackstone Printmaking Studio That Nina Fletcher had founded In Worcester And it's a great place And I'm able to do printmaking Which in a studio That we all share sort of as a cooperative Six years ago I was elected to the state house And that comes from an organizing background Which I'm so happy To see the arts organizing Around what we need Because that really doesn't Happen by itself And we need to have a collective voice So I'm at the state house And I'm thinking This is really good Representing 40,000 people back in Worcester And I was excited But little did I know A real part of the reason That I'm there And that had to also to do with A colleague of mine Representative Chris Walsh Who's a graduate of RISD Chris died Over a year ago But he really was A little bit before me And stepped out in a way that Together, you know, kind of being surprised That both coming from an art school Background Had a place at the state house And a reason for being there So that's pretty much it And I'm just really happy To be working with all of you And to bring this forward We really need to look at where It's going in terms of arts education I know That was one of the things that I think You wanted to talk about a little bit Right? Arts education is top of mind for us We're involved, as you know In the cultural plan for the city Right, right And it's not an extra It is embedded into the city's New master plan that's rolling out And fortunately Fortunately They haven't completed the master plan But we've completed the cultural plan So that's going to set the tone For the whole city And what lens we're looking through But arts education In the classroom Long learning Creative connections That's really what it's about Not the capital C of culture Capital A It's arts engagement for all So that's our mantra in Central Mass And that's really the mantra of Mass Creative And I think you've helped champion That over the years We still have work to do though Because we're in the middle With chapter 70 money And increasing that And I think where I hear The arts being talked about Is not especially in the classroom But in after school Kind of activities So, you know, like, okay That sounds like a little bit of extra We know it's essential We'll embrace it, but we do have A lot of work to do To make sure that it's like Really there throughout Like just, it's part of What we need to do this now Right now, really Well, we're with you on that Yeah, yeah And if there's anything we can do for you Something you wake up in the middle Of the night and you say, oh We gotta have a dance party On the common next week to celebrate Cultural equity for all Just give us a ring Well, I just think including Everyone and making sure Folks know what's happening At the state house, I'd say We just need to stand together I'm really excited about Paul McMurtry Who is now the chair Of arts culture and tourism And I'm on that committee I'm really excited about working with him I'm excited about our Cultural caucus And all of the members All of my colleagues that came out And said, yes, I really need To be more closely attuned to what's happening Culturally in my district And I don't know how to do that Or I don't know what's culturally happening Can you help me understand that? So there's a lot of work to be done And your being here today is just great Are you meeting with other members Of the delegation? We are, and Che, do you want to say Anything about artists live workspace And connecting artists in the community there? How important that is for us? So I think that One of the things we found In the city of Worcester specifically, as you know Is that arts has sort of permeated throughout The entire community And it's been amazing to sort of see how organic That's happened over time A bunch of us do work in some capacity Within for the city, or city adjacent organizations But it really does start From a grassroots level Sort of all the way up There are people in this, and I'm going to name drop A ton of people, so audience, I'm sorry Or take notes, a lot of great things are happening in Worcester So there are groups Like art reach, or main idea Or the creative hub, that are doing amazing things With arts education, getting our youth involved And engaged in the arts very early on Some of them are working during the school day And some of them are bringing them to after school activities So that's been amazing to see happen We have, we're lucky enough To have so many independent arts organizers in the city Much like yourself And other folks who have done festivals Like start on the street Like the Caribbean carnival or the Latin festival To understand that culture Isn't just something that happens within the arts But also ethnic diversity and equity as well So that works being done in the city Large sea culture, if you will, organizations The Worcester Art Museum, the Hanover Theater Sort of arts and science spaces Like the Equitarium are finding new and exciting ways To get the community involved Not just on their campus But understanding that by being in Worcester The city is their campus, so getting them out and about In the community, providing free accessible artwork So that's all been great from a programming standpoint But we're also understanding that As the city develops It really is the arts That are jump-starting a lot of this development The idea that Worcester is undergoing a renaissance Is something that starts with our creatives And so we would be remiss Not to have a place for them to work And play and live And so that's really the next sort of essential Step for us, is figuring out how to Not just let artists come in And make our neighborhoods look beautiful But to live in those same beautiful neighborhoods At an affordable rate And not just to have one other artist they know In the neighborhood, but to have a whole cohort of artists Being able to live in the space And feel like Worcester's home So that's really the next sort of level for us in Worcester And we hope that we have you There with us, make it all happen And I can think of other people that would like To be part of that conversation, so great Well, thank you for your time We know you're going to see a bunch of people today Good luck with the rest of your time Here and I'll see you back in Worcester Most definitely Could we take a little picture with you To share with the community? We want to post this on our Twitter And use the hashtag creativity connects If that's all right with you Great, great Ready? There we are There you go And that's how it's done Joining me in thanking Representative Keef Erin, Che, Lisa, Hank And Yapa Okay, so now is the time Where we move around a little bit But I'm going to give you a series of instructions Before you move, so bear with me We want you to meet up with other folks Here from your district so you can prep For your meetings with your legislators We're going to do this in a couple of steps So sit tight We'll spend about 20 minutes in the groups When we move there But I want everyone to take a look at your name tag At the back of your name tag Or that tells you the Senate group you're in Some of you have two group numbers One for where you live and perhaps one for Where you work You should choose which group you want to go to But please note that for representatives That are farther outside of Boston They have fewer folks so you might want to Spread the wealth there After you meet with your Senate group Find others in your group with the same representative And plan your meetings together Now I want you to see where your captains are And your captains are holding numbers So when it's time to move You'll go to those numbers Now all of our captains should raise Their flags or their banners high Not everyone has them And if you're in the balcony and you can't see You should make your way down here There's 12, 11, 13, 31 on this side I see two and five and 18 There's three in the middle And for those groups If you'll just bear with me for one more second Those groups who in three and four Those will meet on the stage afterwards Okay? And the curtain will rise All groups at this moment If you've identified your group number You should find your way there Pretty quickly and we'll Spend about 20 minutes I'll give you a 10 minute warning And if you would kindly take all your belongings With you because we will dismiss To the march from our groups Everybody clear? Yes