Cultural Grants Are Investment in Berkshire EconomyBy Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
06:36PM / Friday, January 20, 2012
MCC Executive Director Anita Walker said Massachusetts has a responsibility to maintain its cultural heritage. 'There are so many firsts here.' |
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The backstage investment of more than $8 million so far in the region's cultural venues is strengthening its economy and sustaining some its most important historical and artistic buildings.
The latest round of Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund grants to the Berkshires over the past few months — to the tune of $1.45 million — was marked on Friday at the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, the recipient of a $100,000 matching state grant for safety improvements, sound and lighting equipment, painting, and woodwork and chimney repairs. Other grants were awarded for roof repairs, HVAC, space expansion, septic tanks, fire alarms and paving.
That kind of work isn't the "sexiest of projects," said Anita Walker, executive director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council, but it's essential for long-term viability. "We really have a collective responsibility to take care of these awesome treasures in Massachusetts — for us, for our citizens, for our visitors."
Just as important, the investment is paying back through the creation of jobs and as a catalyst for fund raising.
"This program has already created more than 11,000 construction jobs in Massachusetts," said Walker. "After the work is done another ... 700 or 800 permanent jobs have been created in association with these new projects. This is the gift that keeps on giving."
The 5-year-old fund, administered by the council in collaboration with the MassDevelopment, is backed by a $50 million bond authorization. So far, $44 million in matching grants have been awarded; this latest round totals $7 million in statewide. Gov. Deval Patrick has announced another $5 million appropriation, bringing available funds to $5 million for each of the next two years.
"These grants are the lifelines for keeping these doors open and the lights on," said state Rep. William "Smitty" Pignatelli, D-Lenox, chairman of the Cultural Caucus. While some county residents may not appreciate the investment, "they are cultivating that next generation of moviegoers, theatergoers, opera takers.
"I think they created the creative economy in the Berkshires ... it's the driving economic engine of Berkshire County."
 Chesterwood Museum, Stockbridge
$250,00
Edith Wharton Restoration, Lenox
$137,000
Mahaiwe Center, Great Barrington
$100,000
Samuel Harrison Society, Pittsfield
$63,000
Clark Art Institute, Williamstown
$250,000
Williamstown Theatre Festival
$53,000 |
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The Mahaiwe, a century-old restored theater, brings in 40,000 people a year — half from outside the county — to attend its eclectic mix of performances. Beryl Jolly, executive director, said the theater provides Great Barrington with both economic stability and access to a rich cultural environment.
"We believe that healthy arts and culture mean a better quality of life and a stronger community."
Walker said more than a $1 billion in deferred maintenance at cultural organizations was identified in a statewide study. And maintenance is ongoing — fix the roof and the plumbing goes. These are the most difficult dollars to raise for nonprofit organizations.
"When you're trying to raise money in a capital campaign, donors get a lot more excited about the shiny new building or the new addition or the new educational wing," she said."It's hard to put a plaque on the plumbing."
Facilities grants can jump-start fundraising. The highly competitive grants are an assurance the state is behind a project, and that gives donors confidence, said Walker. While the grants require an even match, every state dollar can generate up to $38 in matching funds.
Nuts and bolts funding could also jump-start projects that are stuck, like the Mohawk Theater in North Adams. "These kind of grants make it seem possible," said Jonathan Secor, of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts' Berkshire Cultural Resource Center.
The Berkshires have been cashing in, so to speak, on the facilities grants. State Sen. Benjamin B. Downing, D-Pittsfield, estimated the rural region is getting eight times what it should based on per capita figures. That's because cultural leaders have "effectively made the case that this is the right place to put the state's dollars."
"We know it puts people to work fixing up our facilities," he said. "But we also know it's about sustainable community development in the long run."
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