Recap: The Mayoral Arts Forum in Boston at the Emerson Arts Center on September 9^th

By: Doug Ruffin

       President,

       Boston Music Coalition

Mondays’ Mayoral arts forum was well attended to full capacity at the Emerson Paramount Center on Monday evening. Many of the Boston Mayoral candidates participated and answered tough questions from those active in the Boston Arts community.

Joyce Kulhawik moderated the event and asked the candidates to answer questions with specifics.

All the candidates expressed a personal interest in the arts as well as ideas to grow the arts in Boston based on the value it has for education, small business and how arts places Boston in the eyes of the world stage.

A few of the ideas for the arts in Boston from the candidates included …

• Allocating 1 per cent of the Boston City Budget to arts programs throughout the city
• Creating a cabinet level board of active arts professionals to advise the Mayor on arts issues and planning
• Extended school hours that includes many areas of arts study in all Boston Schools
• Working with Higher Education to move arts forward in Boston.

Many other ideas and proposals were voiced by the candidates.

All of us at the Boston Music Coalition support efforts like these events from “Create the Vote”.

We will ask the Mayoral Candidates to participate as a guest blogger here at the Boston Music Coalition to answer tough questions about Music, venues and the arts in Boston. We'll keep you posted.