Author: Joey Ciaramitaro

First North Shore Mass Cultural Council Cultural Districts Information Session to be held in Gloucester City Hall

seARTS and Gloucester Committee for the Arts invite Civic Leaders, Business Leaders, and the Community to Join 

What: Cultural District Information Session presented by the MCC

Who: Mass Cultural Council, the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts & Gloucester Committee for the Arts

Where: Gloucester City Hall, Dale Avenue, Gloucester, MA.

When: Monday, June 6, 1:00-3:00 PM

Register:

Click here.

The Mass Cultural Council will hold its first North Shore "Cultural District" Information Session at Gloucester City Hall on Monday, June 6th from 1-3PM.  Mayor Kirk will open the meeting and the public is invited to attend.  All North Shore communities have been invited to this meeting.

The Cultural Districts Program was authorized by an act of the Massachusetts state legislature in 2010, and launched in April 2011. Cultural districts can help local arts, humanities and science organizations improve the quality and range of their public programs so that more local families can benefit from them. They can enhance the experience for visitors and thus attract more tourist dollars and tax revenue.  And they can attract artists, cultural organizations and entrepreneurs of all kinds — enhancing property values and making communities more attractive.  "For our local civic leaders, the arts and cultural organizations, individual artists, and businesses on Cape Ann, this offers a unique opportunity to position our arts districts for the future and we encourage anyone interested to attend this meeting so that we can be proactive as a community in moving this initiative forward," says James Caviston, seARTS President.

The statute that created cultural districts has specific goals. They are:

1. Attract artists and cultural enterprises
2. Encourage business and job development
3. Establish the district as a tourist destination
4. Preserve and reuse historic buildings
5. Enhance property values
6. Foster local cultural development

Any city or town in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is eligible to apply for designation of a cultural district. The city or town, after identifying a specific geographic area, must establish a partnership with other organizations and stakeholders. Cities or towns may apply for more than one cultural district but each designation must be applied for separately.

Prior to submitting an application, the city or town must form a cultural district partnership. The partnership must comprise a diverse mix of organizations that represents the interests of the district. The majority of organizations in the partnership must be located in the district.

At least one cultural organization that is incorporated in Massachusetts must be in the partnership. Cultural organizations located outside the geographic boundaries of the district may be involved in the partnership but must provide programming on a regular basis within the district’s boundaries. Organizations that represent artists in the community must be included as partners.

For more information on Cultural Districts, please visit the Mass Cultural Council website: Mass Cultural Council website. To attend this meeting, please register with the Mass Cultural Council at the address above.

Thank you.

The seARTS Board