Arts and Culture
COVID-19 update: Our office is closed to the public. For more information, learn about our Arts and Culture Response Forum. We also created a way for you to view and promote ongoing virtual arts and cultural events in the City. If you have questions, email arts@boston.gov.
Our office enhances the quality of life, the economy, and the design of the City through the arts. The role of the arts in all aspects of life in Boston is reinforced via equitable access to arts and culture in every community, its public institutions, and public places.
Key areas of work include support to the cultural sector through grants and programs, as well as the production and permitting of art in public places.
Contact
1 City Hall Square
Room 802
Room 802
Boston, MA
02201-2029
Temporary COVID-19 hours
City Hall is only open to the public on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Current Opportunities
Current Opportunities
Opportunity Fund
The Opportunity Fund provides grants of up to $1,000 to support individual artists and local arts events planned by artists.
Boston Cultural Council Grants
The Boston Cultural Council is awarding grants to nonprofit organizations that offer arts and cultural programming in Boston.
Upcoming Events
Events
CANCELED: Indigenous Peoples' Medicine Fire
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Nov 28
CANCELED: Indigenous Peoples' Medicine Fire
Artist Resource Desk
Find out about resources and services available for artists in the City of Boston.
Public Art
Photo Credit:
Learn more about public art in Boston
Photo of Don Rimx's "Powerful Knowledge" mural courtesy of Chris Gaines.
Strand Theatre
The theater in Dorchester serves as a cultural and educational resource to artists and audiences.
Cultural Planning
Artist Live/Work program
Artist Live/Work Boston has helped create live/work spaces and retain existing spaces for artists in the City.
Boston Creates
Read Boston's 10-year plan for enhancing arts and culture in the City.
Boston Planning & Development Agency initiatives
Learn about the active planning initiatives being coordinated by the Boston Planning & Development Agency.
Cultural Districts
Cultural districts are well-recognized areas that help strengthen local economies and add vibrancy to local culture.
Public Art Projects
We commission public art projects in the City that engage communities and enrich the urban environment.
Upham's Corner Arts and Innovation District
We're working to revitalize Upham's Corner and celebrate the Fairmount Corridor connector.
Our Grant Opportunities
Contact: Arts and Culture
Artist Fellowship Award
The pilot grant invests in individual artists living and working in Boston.
Arts and Culture COVID-19 Fund
This fund will support cultural nonprofits that have had to drastically reduce and change their programs as a result of COVID-19.
Boston Cultural Council Organizational Grants
The BCC organizational grants provide awards of up to $5,000 to local arts organizations.
Fay Chandler Emerging Artist Awards
Every fall, the City recognizes fresh, original, and contemporary work made by Boston artists.
Opportunity Fund
Apply for a grant to help continue your development, build skills, share your artistic work, and teach others.
Project Partnership Grant
This grant is intended to elevate recurring events and programs that create opportunities for artists in Boston.
Radical Imagination for Racial Justice
This regranting program distributes funds to artists seeking to advance racial justice through collaborative projects in their communities.
Other Programs
Alternative Space Pilot Project for Artists
We partner with local businesses and institutions to make underused private spaces available to artists.
Artist Resource Desk
Find out more about services for artists in the City of Boston.
Arts and Culture Response Forum
We hold meetings with the cultural sector to connect and share information on COVID-19 and equitable recovery.
Boston AIR
In the program, artists, community members, and City employees work on projects that help reframe social conversations. These artists explore the ways they can use art and media to improve and bolster City initiatives.
Boston Cultural Council
The council awards grants that help artists and arts organizations thrive.
City Hall Galleries
Boston City Hall is home to several galleries that promote and exhibit the work of Boston artists.
Creative Commercial Space Connector
We created a form to help match those seeking spaces and spaces looking for long-term tenants.
Current open calls and applications
See what public art projects the City has planned and submit your proposals.
Finding space as an artist in Boston
We want to help artists of all disciplines find spaces in Boston.
King Memorial
We're working with nonprofit MLK Boston to help bring a memorial honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King to Boston.
One Boston Resilience Project
We're beginning a citywide community engagement process to envision our collective strength after violence, as illuminated by the Boston Marathon Bombing.
Open Studios
Talk to and buy art directly from artists, see demonstrations, listen to music, and more.
PaintBox
Local artists can paint a City of Boston-owned utility box with their original designs.
Percent for Art
The City sets aside one percent of its annual capital borrowing budget for the commissioning of public art.
Poet Laureate
The Poet Laureate works to raise the status of poetry in the everyday lives of residents.
Raining Poetry
The Mayor's Mural Crew works with the Poet Laureate and Mass Poetry to create invisible poems on the streets of Boston.
Transformative Public Art Program
We commission several murals and temporary projects every year as part of the Transformative Public Art Program.
Meet the Staff
Our staff
Kara Elliott-Ortega
Chief of Arts and Culture
Sharon Amuguni
Program Manager, Boston AIR
Matthew Breton
Technical Director, Strand Theatre
Alene Burroughs
Assistant to General Manager, Strand Theatre
Kristina Carroll
Communications Director
John Crowley
Curator and Exhibitions Coordinator, City Hall Galleries
Naida Faria
Director, Administration and Finance
Patricia Gilrein
Art Collections Manager
Karin Goodfellow
Director of Public Art
Melodi Greene
General Manager, Strand Theatre
Thomas Johnston
Director of Programming
Elizabeth Liriano
Office Coordinator
Sarah Rodrigo
Public Art Project Manager
Julia Ryan
Artist Resource Manager
Courtney D. Sharpe
Director of Cultural Planning