Lisa Simmons, Program Manager
A total of $7.2M in grants for cultural programming will be made in cities and towns across the state
Residents and visitors to Massachusetts benefit greatly from the dedicated work facilitated by volunteer municipal appointees who steward Mass Cultural Council’s Local Cultural Council (LCC) Program, the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation. Through their efforts, all of us are all able to participate in, and enjoy, 1,000s of arts and cultural programs ranging from murals to lectures, festivals, and performances across the Commonwealth.
In FY23 the Agency allocated $5.5 million to the state’s 329 LCCs to regrant in every city and town in Massachusetts. So far this year, LCCs have approved some 7,500 applications, awarding a total of $7.2 million in grants. (The total amount granted includes the Agency’s LCC allocations as well as unspent funds from prior LCC cycles, municipal matches, and local LCC fundraising efforts.)
We are grateful to our 2,500 LCC members, who are hardworking advocates for local arts and cultural programs and are committed to the needs of their cultural communities.
Through these LCC grants, new and vibrant cultural programming will be available across the state, including:
- Beverly Cultural Council is supporting Olde Essex Stage Company’s 3rd Annual Shakespeare in the Park. The program was developed to give community members the chance to attend quality outdoor Shakespeare, free of cost.
- Brockton Cultural Council is continuing to support Jazz in the Sanctuary, an evening of music featuring internationally acclaimed master drummer/percussionist and Brockton resident, Yoron Israel. He and his infectious, creative, and soulful quintet perform new music and selections.
- Charlemont-Hawley Cultural Council is supporting Indigenous Voices in the Berkshires so all people have the opportunity to hear from Indigenous presenters. It is important for all people to know the history of the land we dwell in and the people we live among.
- Chesterfield Cultural Council is hosting an Indigenous History Event with Strong Oak Lefebvre. They will be welcoming a local Native person who will speak on the history of first peoples in this area and their continuing presence among us. She will also speak about the Seven Grandfather Teachings, including the one about walking in balance in all of our relationships (with all of Creation).
- Chicopee Cultural Council is sponsoring ChicopeeTV’s “Center Stage,” which offers free/televised live music performances to viewers of ChicopeeTV. Born of COVID-19 closures, “Center Stage” provides access to bands and genres that community members may not have considered listening to without free access and provides local bands high-end footage of their live performance to share within our community and beyond.
- Cohasset Cultural Council is supporting The Friends of Holly Hill Farm in a series of programs entitled “Sharing Native American Culture with Cohasset Residents through a new children’s book ‘Keepunumuk’ by Danielle Greendeer. These programs are designed to educate adults & children about the Native American tradition of planting a 3 Sisters Garden.
- Greenfield Cultural Council is sponsoring Greenfield Military Band, a local community concert band formed in 1904. It has been in continuous operation since then and is recognized as one of the oldest continuing community bands in America.
- Gosnold Cultural Council is supporting the Cuttyhunk Historical Society’s “Signing on the Stoop,” which will provide informal American Sign Language classes on Cuttyhunk Island for all ages and abilities to learn beginning signs and gestures, history and cultural ties, and overall community engagement.
- Lenox Cultural Council is supporting SculptureNow @The Mount 2023 which will offer Berkshire residents, visitors and students a free juried exhibition of 30 new, large-scale, outdoor sculptures created by local, national, and international artists, sited on the grounds of The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home in Lenox, MA.
- Lowell Cultural Council is funding a portion of the Lowell Hispanic and Latinx Festival, put on by their Latinx Community Center for Empowerment. They will celebrate cultural presentations, ethnic food, dance classes, and live bands, using it as an opportunity to support local businesses.
- Marlborough Cultural Council is assisting the city with their Mural Project, which is intended to provide viewers with a history of Marlborough itself.
- Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Council is sponsoring “Music and Memory Café,” a project from the Martha’s Vineyard Center for Living that provides a place to socialize with others with memory loss and disability, through music and community for the elderly and their caregivers.
- Norton Cultural Council is supporting the Norton Land Preservation Society in a program that seeks to raise the awareness of the L.A. Foster Wildlife Refuge and its historical past before and during the industrial revolution.
- Waltham Cultural Council is supporting African Cultural Services’ “Your Story Matters Magazine,” a magazine that encourages Ugandan youth to express themselves by sharing their stories within their own community and the greater Waltham community. Now in its third year, the magazine celebrates local youth and cultural diversity through poems and essays on topics such as identity, feelings about race, and dreams for the future.
- Westminster Cultural Council supported The Circle of Artists Exhibition at the Westminster American Legion, an exhibition for local artists and high school students to display their work.