Arts & culture
Arts programming, artist support, cultural spaces and neighborhood history and heritage.
Residents want paid, supported local artists, free affordable places to create and perform, and more public art, free cultural events and youth arts across neighborhoods.
Theme grouped and summary written with AI from this theme's resident ideas.
160 ideas across three cycles
| Cycle | Ideas | Share of all ideas | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | 56 | 4.6% | 11 of 20 |
| 2025–26 | 45 | 3.7% | 13 of 20 |
| 2026–27 | 59 | 4.5% | 10 of 20 |
Needs that keep coming back
Pay and support for local artists
Residents ask for micro-grants, fair pay, mentorship and business training so artists and musicians can sustain their work in Boston.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Free or low-cost spaces to create, rehearse and show art
Residents want studios, galleries, co-working and performance spaces in vacant storefronts, unused city buildings and neighborhood hubs, especially in Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Free cultural events and performances in neighborhoods
Residents ask for free concerts, festivals and performances in parks and public spaces that reflect Boston's many cultures and reach beyond downtown.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Murals and public art by local artists
Residents suggest paying local and BIPOC artists to paint murals and install public art that beautifies blank walls and underused spaces.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
Arts and music programs for children and youth
Residents want free or low-cost art, music and dance programs and spaces for young people, including instruments, studios and healing-centered arts.
Raised in 2024–25, 2025–26, 2026–27
2024–25
Ideas centered on murals, performance spaces in parks, new arts hubs and centers, and recognizing neighborhood and First Nations history, with many Dorchester, East Boston and Charlestown ideas.
2025–26
Ideas leaned toward artist-support systems such as micro-grants, a mentor network, a city arts platform and free use of unused city buildings, plus healing-centered art and heritage exhibits.
2026–27
Ideas stressed direct pay for artists, including basic income and fair pay for musicians, and a cluster of Allston-Brighton asks, including a Western Avenue arts district, alongside many music and cultural performance requests.
New in 2026–27
New or growing in 2026-27 are an arts district on Western Avenue in Allston-Brighton, basic income and fair-pay funds for artists, and music in transit stations and senior centers.
Funding so far
No resident-voted winning projects relate to this theme, so none of the recurring asks, including artist funding, affordable creative spaces, free events, murals and youth arts, has been funded through resident vote yet.
Projects are linked to themes by matching each project's description to the themes; this is not an official City classification.
No winning project has addressed this theme yet.
Departments that often lead this work
- Mayor's Office of Arts & Culture
- Boston Public Library
Suggested with AI; not an official assignment of responsibility.
Ideas in Arts & culture
160 ideas
2024–25: 56 · 2025–26: 45 · 2026–27: 59
- Recognize Boston's First Nations through exhibits and a parkResident asks for exhibits at City Hall and the Central Library, a park and statues, and a dedicated internship to acknowledge the First Nations of Boston.2024–25City-wide
- 24-hour Black-owned radio stationSupport a 24-hour Black-owned radio station to give the community a voice, since fees and licensing have made stations unsustainable since WILD closed.2024–25City-wide
- Pay local artists for public muralsPay local artists to create murals and installations that beautify public spaces, citing a well-preserved mural near the North Point pedestrian bridge.2024–25City-wide
- Artistic welcome signs on highways into BostonResident proposes commissioning local artists to create welcome signs where major highways enter Boston, to greet visitors and residents.2024–25City-wide
- Business training for musiciansResident asks for a workshop and certificate program teaching musicians how to set up a business or nonprofit, because musicians struggle financially in Boston.2024–25City-wide
- Interactive multisensory public art on cultural storiesResident proposes short-term public art that is visual, auditory and tactile, tells cultural stories, and prioritizes marginalized artists so more people can access and be represented.2024–25City-wide
- Decorative city lighting in all neighborhoodsResident asks for up-lighting, tree lights and color-changing seasonal lighting across the city, including neighborhoods of color and under bridges, to beautify areas that look neglected.2024–25City-wide
- Boston/MBTA transit museumResident proposes creating a Boston or MBTA transit museum to offer educational activities in the city and possibly raise funds for MBTA services.2024–25City-wide
- Seasonal outdoor cinema at Piers ParkResident asks for a summer outdoor movie screen in Piers Park since East Boston has no cinema, including foreign language films reflecting immigrant communities.2024–25East Boston
- Memorial to Sacco and Vanzetti in CharlestownResident asks for a monument or memorial to Sacco and Vanzetti at the former Charlestown State Prison site, now BHCC, saying they were executed for their beliefs and immigrant status.2024–25Charlestown
- More murals on buildings and structuresAdd more murals to buildings and structures.2024–25City-wide
- Pride flag crosswalkCreate a pride flag crosswalk.2024–25City-wide
- Improve Fens facilities for concerts and eventsImprove facilities for concerts and community events at the Fens so Fenway's diverse residents have a shared community space.2024–25Fenway
- Expand Living Histories of Color banner projectResident asks for funding to expand Living Histories of Color to more libraries and to banners on lampposts along major corridors, later including Indigenous histories.2024–25City-wide
- Seed funding for neighborhood events and performancesResident asks for more seed funding for community events, parades and performances, particularly in neighborhoods outside downtown and less wealthy areas.2024–25City-wide
- Community center for youth dance, music and artFloor Lords proposes using a $2 million grant to buy a building for a community center offering free and low-cost dance, music and art programs for inner-city youth.2024–25Fenway
- Fund performances at Bremen Street Park amphitheatreResident asks for public funding for diverse performances such as short plays, trios and mariachi at the Bremen Street Park amphitheatre to improve access to neighborhood arts.2024–25East Boston
- Subsidy to start a lesbian barGive a subsidy to an applicant to open a lesbian bar in Boston, since none are known to exist there, benefiting the LGBT community.2024–25Back Bay
- Legal spaces for graffiti and public artCreate free spaces in neighborhoods where teens, young adults and others can make paint and spray-paint art, which could also keep graffiti off businesses and buildings.2024–25City-wide
- Improve Strand Theater to attract new operatorResident asks for investment in the Strand Theater's seating, sound and facilities so a new operator can run events serving the neighborhood's many cultures.2024–25Dorchester