The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) announces release of more than $700,000 in grants to stimulate new economic activity, job creation, and community revitalization through arts and cultural projects across the state.
The MCC’s Adams Arts Program for the Creative Economy will invest in 27 projects in every region of Massachusetts, including the Berkshires’:
Assets for Artists, North Adams*
The project provides an innovative set of tools to enable artists of all disciplines to advance entrepreneurially and financially through financial education, microenterprise training, home ownership assistance, and access to capital.
Berkshire Cultural Resource Center, North Adams
The Berkshire Cultural Resource Center provides resources, training, and support that: bring a creative class of people to the Berkshires; provide work opportunities in the creative sector for young adults currently living in the region; and support the existing creative class of artists and arts organizations in the county.
Cultural Pittsfield
Cultural Pittsfield is a campaign to support and grow the creative economy in Pittsfield through collaborative marketing and technical assistance, with a focus on seed funding and support for new entrepreneurial initiatives and events; and to provide networking and professional development opportunities for artists and creative workers.
Adams is the oldest and most-far reaching program of its kind in the nation, supporting projects that harness the unique assets of the Commonwealth and the creativity of its residents. Adams grants fuel a creative sector that has a $4.2 billion total impact on the state’s economy and provides more than 109,000 jobs.
“I am delighted to see the results of our ongoing investments,” said Senate President Therese Murray of Plymouth at a State House announcement this morning. She cited Adams-funded projects such as Harbor Your Arts! in Hyannis, which “helped local artists generate $121,000 in sales in one year.”
“The creative sector is a proven engine for economic development and revitalization,” said Anita Walker, the MCC’s executive director. “This year’s Adams grants will generate real dollars for these communities at a time when innovative strategies to produce wealth and create jobs are sorely needed.”
MCC’s Adams grants will:
- Promote cultural tourism in the Pioneer Valley through Museums 10, a cross-promotional effort by seven college museums and galleries and three independent museums in the region. The partners are collaborating on a joint themed exhibition, Table for 10: The Art, Science and History of Food, which will bring together several sectors of the local economy: artists and artisans, small farmers, restaurants and inns, food writers, and food aficionados.
- Invest in the Gateway Cities: New Bedford, Pittsfield, Fitchburg, Worcester, and Leominster through a range of strategies to generate new, arts-based commercial activity in downtown districts.
- Create opportunities for Massachusetts artists to compete in the global arena with Transcultural Exchange, which includes a biennial conference that has resulted in hundreds of local artists finding jobs and residencies worldwide, and draws visitors from as far away as Mongolia and Nigeria.
- Reinvest in the Cambridge Science Festival, a project of the MIT Museum that attracts 30,000 annually to the Greater Boston area, and estimates annual visitor spending at $652,000.
“These grants will help connect our region’s natural beauty with local businesses and tourist services,” said Senator Stephen Brewer (D-Barre), whose district is home to the North Quabbin Woods Arts and Culture Portal, which uses the work of local artisans to drive ecotourism in the North Quabbin Woods region. “I am proud to support these important cultural grants that will help increase economic sustainability for our district and promote the connection between ecotourism, arts, and culture.”
Click here to see the full list of Adams grants!
*Berkshire Creative Partner InitiativeDo you have an item you would like to share about the creative economy? Suggest a Post to Berkshire Creative!









