Arts & Creativity

Elevating the arts and enabling creative expression—to engage and inspire a vibrant, vital, and equitable Massachusetts.

NEFA Creative City project by Ify Franklin, photo by Maureen White

Arts and creativity are essential for vibrant, vital, and engaged communities.

In a time of enormous disruption and rapid change across our society, the arts and creativity are essential. Great art transforms the way we engage with the world. It brings beauty into our lives. Through creativity we can transcend conventions and generate new ideas, alternatives, and possibilities. Arts and creativity have the power to connect us with each other, to help us understand our dynamic environment, to heal, and to imagine new, better, different futures.

To achieve the goal of a dynamic, thriving Commonwealth, we believe that a central focus on racial equity is required. Massachusetts needs adaptive and relevant organizations with broad public engagement and support.

Barr’s Arts & Creativity program seeks to invest in bold ideas and leaders through three strategies.

A Chinese man wearing a black sweatshirt paints with a large brush black paint across a white canvas on the floor. A crowd looks on including one woman with a videocamera.

Building capacity for artists and the arts field to adapt, take risks, and engage diverse audiences in new ways.

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May 01, 2018

E. San San Wong

A $30 million, six-year effort focused on powerful art and bold leadership by Massachusetts arts organizations to create more vibrant communities.

Arts & Creativity

May 18, 2015

Stefan Lanfer

A visit from NEA Chairman Jane Chu confirms the transformative potential—already being unleashed—of arts and culture in Boston.

Arts & Creativity

Two smiling women stand outside, across the street from the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center. One older white woman is the executive director of the center and one younger latina woman is a member of the center's Spanish language advisory newtork.

The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents live performances, film, and cultural events year-round, bringing a variety of content to the stage and screen of the historic Berkshire theater. Since 2018, Mahaiwe has been part of the Barr-Klarman Massachusetts Arts Initiative.

Great Barrington, MA

Arts & Creativity
Adapting Boldly

Profile Website

Learn more about the Adapting Boldly strategy

View the Spanning Sectors Page

In the early evening, a group of people, including children are dancing in a street that is closed to cars and in front of the Chelsea Theater in Chelsea, MA.

Supporting collaborations across arts disciplines and with other sectors for creative problem solving, expanding arts participation, and increasing resources for arts and creativity.

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Oct 10, 2019

As Creative Commonwealth Initiative enters new phase, Rayana Grace and John Vasconcellos of the SouthCoast Community Foundation reflect on the new artists, work, and partnerships that celebrate the rich cultural heritage of the South Coast.