Marblehead Project Outlines Path for Energy Upgrades in Historic Districts | | |
We’ve wrapped up the Marblehead Sustainable Heritage Project, launched in 2024 to show how clean energy upgrades and historic preservation can work together. The proposed guidelines offer a path to allowing homeowners in the Old and Historic Districts to add solar panels, heat pumps, EV charging, and energy-efficient windows while preserving the character that makes Marblehead unique.
Learn more
| | Arts & Culture at the Framingham Back-to-School Extravaganza | | Lindsay Randall and Nubes Chen at the Arts and Culture Team table during the 8th Annual Back-to-School Extravaganza in Framingham. | | |
Lindsay Randall and Nubes Chen represented the Arts and Culture team at the 8th Annual Back to School Extravaganza at Gems @ The Arts in Framingham. The day was full of music, food, and community!
Our table featured a gumball machine where participants wrote messages about what they love about Framingham, added them to the machine, and then pulled out a message written by someone else. Kids also enjoyed coloring stickers to design their own version of community. We also showcased an art installation made from recycled materials in the form of fish that displayed images of the different work our department does.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by and shared in the fun!
| | From Montague’s Murals to Your Town in 2026 | | Artist Ponnapa Prakkamakul installing a wheatpaste mural at 41 E Main St in Montague, MA, photographed by Suzanne LoManto. | | |
In 2025, Montague covered walls across three villages with colorful wheatpaste murals by artists Sophie Foulkes, Ponnapa Prakkamakul, and Aaron Meshon. Funded through the Making it Public for Massachusetts Municipalities program, the project reflected local history and community themes while bringing art to unexpected places. Read more about Montague’s project here.
Your municipality can be next! The 2026 cohort will join a biweekly workshop series (January–April 2026), receive a $15,000 NEFA grant for a Call for Temporary Public Art, and get hands-on technical assistance from NEFA and MAPC - all leading to a completed public art installation by the end of 2026.
Important 2026 Dates
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Information Session: September 9, 2025 | 10:00–11:00 a.m. | Register
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Application Deadline: September 29, 2025 | 11:59 p.m. ET | Apply Online
More details are available on the NEFA website.
| | Farewell to Abbey — and Congratulations! | | From our recent team outing, with Abbey (second from right) pictured alongside the rest of the Arts & Culture team. | | |
At the end of August, we say goodbye to our wonderful colleague Abbey Judd, who has been a vital part of the Arts & Culture Department for the past three years. Abbey brought empathy, curiosity, and joy to her work - helping to shape our team culture, expand our policy and planning portfolio, and lead landmark projects like the Salem Charlotte Forten Grimké public art process, the Needham and Reading Arts and Culture Action Plans, and Making Space for Art.
She’s off to Philadelphia to join Art-Reach as a Project Manager, supporting accessibility in the arts through community assessment work. We’ll miss her dearly – but can’t wait to hear about her next chapter (and catch her someday in a brass band or on a DJ lineup).
| | Somerville Mayoral Forum on Arts & Culture 2025 | | |
Join the 2025 Create the Vote Somerville Steering and Host Committees for a mayoral forum on arts and culture. Hear directly from the candidates, Katjana Ballantyne, Willie Burnley Jr, and Jake Wilson, about their visions for the creative workforce and economy in Somerville. The forum will be moderated by Amelia Mason, Senior Arts & Culture Reporter at WBUR.
Monday, August 25, 2025
Warehouse XI - Boston Event Space
Doors open at 6:00 PM | Forum begins at 6:30 PM
Create the Vote is a program of MASSCreative. For questions about Create the Vote and MASSCreative's Somerville coalition, please contact createthevote@mass-creative.org
| | Job Opportunity: Arts, Policy, and Civic Engagement Editor | | |
Boston Art Review is seeking a full-time Arts, Policy, and Civic Engagement Editor to lead a new editorial vertical focused on the civic and political forces shaping New England’s cultural sector.
This two-year, grant-funded role will expand coverage of arts policy, civic life, and the critical issues facing our cultural economy.
Learn more and apply here.
| | APA Arts & Planning Division Annual Business Meeting | | |
Join the APA Arts & Planning Division for our annual business meeting. Hear about what we have been working on over the past year, what is planned for the year ahead, and learn about interesting work from our new board members. We also want to hear your ideas about how the division can best support you.
Thursday, September 18, 2025
3:00 PM – 4:30 PM (Eastern)
Register here.
Interested in joining the APA Arts & Planning Division Board? We currently have openings for:
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Member-at-Large (voting)
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Student/Youth Representative (voting)
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EDI Advisor (non-voting)
Send a statement of interest with a resume or CV to artsandplanningdivision@gmail.com.
| | | | Looking to connect with like-minded practitioners across the country? Contact asengupta@mapc.org for more information. | | |
MAPC's Arts and Culture Department delivers technical assistance in emerging practice areas including cultural planning, creative placemaking, creative community development, arts and cultural data collection and analysis, and cultural policy.
We help cities and towns with policies, programs, and staffing that help arts and cultural assets grow and thrive by providing technical assistance with the full range of arts and culture planning issues – community development, economic development, public health, and the built and natural environment. The department's services include municipal and regional planning work, research projects, and the delivery of trainings that build planner expertise in arts, culture, and creativity.
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