On The Issues | Arts

Supporting the Arts
Northampton has rightly been lauded for the quality, diversity and economic importance of its arts community. Events such as First Night, the Paradise City Arts Festival, and our monthly Arts Night Out bring thousands of local residents and visitors to downtown, generating hotel and restaurant taxes that help fund City services. In turn, artists and arts organizations have been able to thrive and grow here because they've been supported by a generous business community that values the arts, and by appreciative local audiences.

But challenges face our arts community: The Center for the Arts will soon lose its lease and must find a new home; escalating rents are driving artists out; Federal and State budget cuts threaten our arts organizations; and arts programming in the schools is continually at risk.

I support keeping The Center for the Arts in downtown Northampton, and will do everything I can as mayor to help the citizens and organizations working to make that happen.

Affordable housing, studios, and live/work space are important to keeping our artists living and working here. They are critical to keeping Northampton one of the most recognized small arts cities in America. I will work to create the kinds of spaces artists need. This is an issue that I've worked on as a City Councilor and member of the State Hospital Citizens Advisory Committee.

As Mayor, I will be a strong advocate of state and federal funding of the arts. I will work with the Northampton Arts Council and other organizations to identify and pursue public and private grant opportunities to support the arts, an important part of the fabric of our local culture and economy.

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