National Arts & Humanities Month
By Laura Reyes, Program Officer, Arts and Creativity
October 2024
The arts and humanities time and time again give us the opportunity to tell our stories on our terms, while making sense of the trials and tribulations of today. By offering the ability for truth-seeking, storytelling, cross-generational healing and connection, as President Biden said in the proclamation declaring October 2024 National Arts & Humanities Month, the arts “bring people together and show us that we have more in common than we have differences – helping us see each other, understand one another, and unite in common cause.”
At The Boston Foundation, we are dedicated to uplifting and celebrating Boston’s culture makers while advocating for our artists and communities to have equitable access to the arts at local, state, and national levels. We believe that raising awareness about the positive impact the arts and humanities has on individuals and families at every level, combined with increasing and supporting individual, organizational, and diverse community participation in the arts, will lead to systems and mindset shift, and ultimately, to a higher quality of life for our artists and for those growing, changing, and engaging with the arts.
Upcoming Deadlines and Events
- Next Steps Deadline: apply by October 25th for this grant opportunity for Greater Boston’s choreographers and Circus Artists.
- Celebrate Dia de Los Muertos at Bow Market, hosted by Amantolli on 11/2 from 5-10pm. The night will include a traditional altar, tasty food, music, cultural vendors, and festive activities. This event is supported by TBF and the Latino Equity Fund at TBF.
- Brother Thomas opening soon. Learn more now.
Support and Learn More About
- Boston Music Project
- Think Outside the Vox
- Just Bookish/Words as Worlds
- White Snakes Projects
- Arts Collaborative Medford
- Boston Public Art Triennial
- Recently supported collaboration - Teatro Chelsea and Gloucester Stage Company presentation of The Hombres
The Boston Foundation’s Featured Visual Artists
If you have visited our office recently, you may have seen the work of several Boston-area artists hanging on our walls! Featured artists include:
- Meclina Gomes
- Ngoc-Tran Vu
- Kamil Peters
- Sharif Muhammad
- Franklin Marval
- Ibrahim
- Tracy Barbosa
- Anny Arias Peguero
- Quincy Harding
- Odie Lemmel
- Nayana Lafond
- Curator, Meclina Gomes – co-owner of Community Art Collaborative
A Literary Gathering Space Coming to Boston
The Boston Foundation got in on the ground floor, quite literally, in support of Just Bookish. In January the TBF Board approved an unrestricted $300,000 grant over three years for development of the space that will occupy the first floor of a new mixed-use, transit-oriented development called Dot Crossing. Read more here.
Live Arts Boston
After a pause in 2023, we have relaunched the Live Arts Boston program in 2024 – newly adapted to incorporate feedback from participants to date, the impact of the pandemic on the arts community, and deepening commitments by both foundations to center racial equity in their work. In August, TBF and The Barr Foundation announced the 2024 LAB Grantees, with more than $1 million in grants and holistic support available for performing artists, creators, and cultural practitioners across the Boston area, and a particular commitment to highlight and uplift BIPOC and immigrant artists.
The arts are intertwined in every facet of our lives, from the inside design of an MBTA train car, the menu design at a restaurant, to the posters you see while waiting for an appointment. It is increasingly important to advocate for the quality of life our creative community deserves as well as the access to programming the community. To learn more about how to advocate for the creatives that you know as well as don’t, learn more about the following organizations: