Senate Committee Proposes $16.5 Million for Arts, Humanities & Sciences in Latest Budget Plan

(Boston, MA) – The Senate Committee on Ways and Means released its version of next year’s state budget today, recommending $16.5 million for the arts, humanities, and sciences through the Mass Cultural Council.

That would represent an increase of $2.5 million, or 18 percent, in state support for the nonprofit cultural sector for Fiscal Year 2018, which begins July 1.

“This is most welcome news for a cultural community that has worked hard to demonstrate our value at a time when arts and humanities funding is threatened at the federal level,” said Anita Walker, Mass Cultural Council Executive Director. “A big thank you to Senate President Stan Rosenberg, Committee Chair Karen Spilka, and their Senate colleagues for this vote of confidence in the remarkable work of our artists, cultural organizations, and communities.”

The full Senate will debate the budget starting next Tuesday. After it completes its work, it must reconcile its spending plan with the House, which proposed a budget of $12 million for the Mass Cultural Council. That House version would represent a cut of roughly 13 percent in state cultural funding. The two chambers then will vote on a final budget before sending it back to the Governor for approval and/or vetoes.

Mass Cultural Council will work with MASSCreative, Mass Humanities, Mass Artists Leaders Coalition, and others to ensure the Senate version of the Mass Cultural Council budget prevails in that negotiation.

See our Advocacy Action Center for updates on this budget process along with the latest data on the nonprofit cultural sector’s contributions to the Massachusetts economy and quality of life.

About the Mass Cultural Council

The Mass Cultural Council is a state agency supporting the arts, sciences, and humanities, to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts and its communities. It pursues its mission through a combination of grants, services, and advocacy for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. The agency’s total budget for this fiscal year is $16.1 million, which includes a $14 million state appropriation and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Council also runs the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund in partnership with MassDevelopment.