URGENT CALL TO ACTION (NEEDED BY MONDAY MARCH 27TH) to Boston Residents and others who support performing arts
URGENT CALL TO ACTION (NEEDED BY MONDAY, MARCH 27TH) to Boston Residents and others who support performing arts*
There is an opportunity for a performing arts center/space in the Seaport Square development in Boston’s Seaport District. This development was originally conceived by the City to include 200,000 to 250,000 gross square feet (a standard amount of square footage for a performance center) for a performing arts center, one which could be large enough to be a home for such organizations size wise as the Boston Lyric Opera, as well as many other local non-profit performing arts producers including dance, theatre, and music. The developers, WS Development, are currently in negotiations with the city and are seeking to significantly reduce the city-mandated requirement for performing arts space.
The Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA), a City of Boston agency, is now in the process of deciding if the proposed performing arts center is something Boston citizens want. They need to hear that individual artists of all disciplines, arts consumers and supporters, and arts organizations are eager to make the project viable.
This is an opportunity to provide the Boston’s art community with an invaluable resource. We want to ensure that the original space requirement – and the vision of the development – is preserved.
It requires strong voices to make sure the BPDA and the City know there is vibrant and committed interest in the proposed space. Will you please contact the BPDA in one of the following ways and let them know you support the original vision and land requirement for a performing arts and cultural space, dedicated to not-for-profit use, by the deadline of MONDAY, MARCH 27?
Here’s how you can help:
1) Comment on the BPDA’s Seaport Square website http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/seaport-square (Scroll down and fill out the form provided.)
2) Write a letter or a postcard to the BPDA and have it postmarked on or before March 27. Address it to: Boston Planning and Development Agency, One City Hall Square, Boston MA 02201 ATTN: Mr. Gary Uter, Project Manager).
3) Make a call to the BPDA to express your support. Call 617-722-4300 and ask to offer a comment in support of the proposed Seaport Square performing arts center.
You can do one, two, or all three of these things. We are providing some talking points below you can use but you should personalize your story and say why you think a Seaport performing arts center is a good idea. It’s more impactful to the BPDA if you are a Boston resident, but even if you live elsewhere, you can make a compelling case that your employment in Boston, with a Boston-based organization that might use the space, is crucial to your career. You can also say that a performing arts center for Boston-based, not-for-profit organizations is vital to the city.
TALKING POINTS to USE/AMEND:
Some examples: If you are an artist, talk about how a new space could provide employment opportunities. If you are a conservatory student or employee, you can make the point that decent performance spaces for educational organizations at affordable rates are hard to come by in Boston. If you are a performing arts organization- stress how needed performing space is needed in Boston and that there is a storage of space that is negatively impacting small to mid sized performing arts groups (theater, dance, music etc)
· The arts are essential to a vibrant neighborhood, especially a nascent one like the Seaport. A vibrant arts scene helps to build community and can help develop a civic profile and unique identity for a neighborhood.
· The original plan for the Seaport development included a mandate for a significant performing arts and cultural center in the area, and the BPDA should ensure that mandate remains.
· The performing arts industry, especially local non-profit producers and other performing arts organizations, are vibrant job creators. For example, the Boston Lyric Opera alone provides more than 350 employment opportunities each season including full-time, part-time, and contract jobs (including an orchestra, solo singers, set designers etc). Individual artists, performing artists (musicians, dancers. etc..) craftspeople, technicians, engineers, construction workers, administrators, and workers in countless supporting industries through Boston would benefit from a new center like this.
· The arts are an economic generator. Wherever performances happen, supporting businesses like restaurants, retail outlets, garages and more see a significant boost in their sales, providing additional jobs and wages for working individuals.
· A performing arts and cultural center is also an education center. Arts organizations all over the city reach out to hundreds of thousands of students each year and bring them into vibrant, creative atmospheres. Students who attend the arts are proven to remain arts patrons for the rest of their lives. And an interest in the arts helps foster student creativity, empathy for others, concentration, appreciation for a variety of creative skills, and more. A student that excels in the arts typically also excels in math, science, reading comprehension, and other key learning skills.
(You can find out more about the development and the proposed arts center:
http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/seaport-square
*Special thanks to the BLO and the Boston Musicians Association for sharing this important call to action!