“The Humanities are how we seek out the truth. About ourselves, about our ancestors, about our towns, and our cities, and our states, and our country,” declared Brian Boyles, Executive Director of Mass Humanities, setting the tone for the MASSCreative Creative Sector Day 2025. “We need funding. But the state needs us. They need us to keep the light in this dark time. Only we can do that.”
This powerful call to action resonated throughout the Massachusetts State House as hundreds of artists, cultural workers, and creative business owners gathered to advocate for continued support of the Commonwealth’s vibrant creative economy. Emily Ruddock and team crushed it!
Standing Strong Against Challenges
Boyles’ rallying cry captured the determination of Massachusetts’ creative community in the face of federal funding cuts. “If they think we are going to move, we’re going to freeze. We’re not going to fight the overall,” he proclaimed to enthusiastic applause, highlighting Massachusetts’ revolutionary spirit and commitment to preserving cultural programming despite federal pressure.
Representative Mindy Domb echoed this sentiment, calling creative workers “cultural warriors” who are “in the crosshairs” but vital to our communities: “You’re not only an engine for economic development, but also an engine for personal and cultural development.”
Administration Champions the Arts
Governor Healey and Lieutenant Governor Driscoll reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to the creative sector. Governor Healey celebrated Massachusetts’ rise to third in the country for arts vibrancy while acknowledging the challenges from Washington.
“Arts are the secret sauce. They unite people, they bring people together, they’re about joy and love,” Healey noted, vowing that while federal cuts target arts and humanities, “in Massachusetts, we’re just saying no, we’re going forward.”
Lt. Governor Driscoll compared today’s creative professionals to the original American revolutionaries – disruptors who challenged the status quo: “Nobody expresses the freedom that we are a part of and our history is a part of better than the arts community.”
Cultural Economy Advisory Council’s Six Key Recommendations
Tiffany Alicia from the Springfield Creative City Collective presented the Cultural Economy Advisory Council‘s preliminary recommendations, emphasizing that “the Creative Sector has an infinite capacity to build a healthier, more equitable, and more abundant society for us all.” The six recommendations include:
- Define and Map the Cultural Economy Statewide: Create a standardized definition and comprehensive mapping of the creative sector to paint a clear picture of its full scope and impact across Massachusetts.
- Elevate Arts and Culture Within State Government: Encourage cross-sector partnerships that place creativity at the heart of public policy, ensuring arts and culture are integrated into broader governmental initiatives.
- Establish Artist-in-Residency Programs: Place artists in collaboration with policymakers to develop creative solutions to public challenges, bringing artistic perspectives directly into governance.
- Launch Capital Initiatives: Focus on downtown revitalization and space preservation to ensure creative spaces remain accessible and contribute to vibrant community centers.
- Promote Business Activity and Workforce Development: Establish pathways to sustainable careers for creative workers, strengthening the business ecosystem that supports the creative economy.
- Secure Permanent and Sustainable Revenue: Create dedicated funding streams for arts and culture to provide stability and longevity for Massachusetts’ creative initiatives.
Economic Impact Front and Center
Marc Draisen, Executive Director of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, emphasized the importance of direct advocacy: “The reason you’re here is not only to feel good, it’s to help yourself to feel better 3, 6, and 12 months from now.” Marc Draisen
Kate Fox, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism, reinforced that the creative economy drives tourism: “You are why people come. You are what they do when they get here.” Kate Fox
Educational Leadership
Dr. Mary Grant announced that Massachusetts College of Art and Design will launch a minor in business for the arts, responding to the cultural economy’s needs. She referenced Pope Francis’s description of artists as “custodians of beauty and custodians of humanity,” noting that “art and culture and creativity brings us together in ways that nothing else does.” Mary K Grant, PhD
Beyond the Podium: Senator Lovely’s Office – Senator Joan Lovely
Following the main event, our North Shore contingent met with Senator Joan Lovely’s office, where policy discussions evolved into personal stories that highlighted the real challenges creative entrepreneurs face on a daily basis.
A virtual tour creator explained how they build online experiences that increase accessibility for people with disabilities while preserving cultural heritage: “I build online experiences for either web-based or virtual reality or AR, and the goals are to help create more accessibility to spaces that otherwise people can’t get to.” Their work includes archiving exhibitions at the Lim Museum, creating permanent digital records of important cultural moments.
Another participant leads a dance academy that provides not just arts education but vital social services: “Our main purpose is to work with their social, emotional support and to be able to provide arts to all the families in the community… From there we kind of changed from just being an academy to now providing [help when] this family is homeless or about to be homeless… The pool is dance, but then they stay for the connection, the dance family, and then for other services.”
A content creator described helping small businesses find their voices online: “One of my main focuses right now is trying to bring small businesses that maybe are not content creation strong into how to do that, get online, bring attention to small businesses, because I think the ecosystem of Salem is small business.”
The Creative Entrepreneur’s Challenge
What became clear in that legislative office is something many policymakers miss: creative entrepreneurs occupy a unique space between traditional business and cultural work. We often fall through the cracks of existing support systems:
“I’ve been really lucky that I’ve had community support, family support, financial support,” noted one participant, “but I think that there’s a lot of opportunities that are being missed.”
Another explained their funding struggles: “I went to a bank, and they’re like, ‘Well, you need to be cash positive.’ So I got cash positive. ‘Like, well, you need to have that… you got to let us see those contracts are gonna prove that you’re gonna get paid.’ So it’s like, I keep getting into walls.”
A nonprofit leader expressed concern about sustainability: “We’re not a for-profit, so we are depending on funding. And we just want to make sure that we’re here for the future.”
Community Building as Economic Strategy
Perhaps most powerful was the recognition that creative businesses don’t just generate revenue – they build community cohesion that strengthens our economic ecosystem. As one participant noted, “We’re not good at policy… but we will make the world a better place.”
Our conversation revealed how creative entrepreneurs serve as connectors across social divides. “I don’t know how to tell people that that’s still the play with what I’m seeing at the federal level,” observed one leader, concerned about maintaining community bonds in polarized times.
Another participant reflected: “I’m concerned that we’ve lost touch with how to build community just to build community… Community for the sake of community is what kept our core strong.”
This highlights a unique role for the creative sector: “When it does happen, amplify and highlight that… I do truly believe that we are at the last two stages of the COVID trauma. There are the stages of grief, and we all had a big loss… You need outlets for that anger or it’s going to turn inward and it’s going to get really bad.”
Call to Action
As attendees moved from the formal program to meetings with legislators, the message was clear: Massachusetts’ $30 billion creative economy that employs over 130,000 people remains essential to our communities, our identity, and our future.
In Boyles’ inspiring words, the state’s creative community represents “Brilliant people doing brilliant things. The regular people doing amazing things for their neighbors. That’s who we are.”
As we face continued uncertainty, the creative sector offers unique capabilities for processing collective trauma and imagining new possibilities. When we invest in creative entrepreneurs, we’re investing in more than economic growth – we’re investing in community resilience.
This event was co-hosted by MASSCreative, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Mass Cultural Council, Mass Humanities, Metropolitan Area Planning Council, New England Foundation for the Arts, New England Museum Association, and The Boston Foundation.
