Mass Cultural Council to launch 'Creative Experiences' program; Civic Moxie hired to redesign Cultural Districts

At the Feb. 12 meeting, Massachusetts Cultural Council Executive Director Michael J. Bobbitt outlined a series of internal program and staffing changes as part of the agency’s strategic operations work.

Bobbitt said the Council is consolidating two existing grant lines—Festivals & Projects and Creative Projects for Schools—into a single program called Creative Experiences, planned to launch later in 2025. He described the consolidation as an effort to streamline grant delivery and to “support artists from cradle to grave” by combining Artists and Youth teams under the Advancement Team; staff changes include moving Erik Holmgren and Carolyn Cole to Advancement to focus on infrastructure and scaling.

For the Cultural Districts Initiative redesign, the Council has retained Civic Moxie as a consultant and is engaging more than 40 partners across state government to strengthen the program and expand capacity. The Council’s public affairs and program teams are preparing public-facing materials from a cultural asset mapping project and plan a statewide outreach tour over the next six months to share findings with constituents. A Cultural District Investment grants celebration is scheduled at the Merrimack Repertory Theater in Lowell the following day.

Bobbitt also described the Council’s role in the new Poet Laureate process: the Council will oversee the application and nomination process and Bobbitt will chair the nominating committee, appointing Brian Boyles of Mass Humanities as co-chair.

Committee members had no follow-up questions on these operational items at the Executive Committee meeting.