Blair B*tch Project Awarded Live Arts Boston Grant by The Boston Foundation
The Boston Foundation and Barr Foundation today announced that 50 performing artists, arts groups and organizations will be sharing nearly $1 million in grants and other support as part of the 2022 class of Live Arts Boston (LAB). Since 2017, LAB has made 360 grants to artists to produce and perform new works. Each 2022 grantee receives $15,000, and access to an expanded portfolio of support from the Boston Foundation and Dunamis. The artist partners, representing a cross-section of performing arts styles and genres, were chosen using a community review process that included nearly 50 local artists and arts administrators, including a number of former Live Arts Boston grantees.
“In our sixth year, we are excited to continue to evolve LAB to be a more effective partner for equity in the performing arts across Greater Boston, particularly as so many of these brilliant performers continue to find new footing after two years of COVID,” said M. Lee Pelton, President and CEO of the Boston Foundation. “By pairing grants with a menu of other supports, we seek to empower the artists to define and access what they need beyond capital as we create a vibrant ecosystem for arts in Boston.”
A strong message for racial equity
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the movements for racial justice, Live Arts Boston doubles down on its commitment to highlighting and uplifting the work of BIPOC and immigrant artists. In this cohort, 78 percent of the grantees identify as artists of color or are groups and organizations led by artists of color. In response to feedback from past LAB artists, the LAB team has increased the investment in project advising, skill-building workshops, networking opportunities, and other support available to grantees in partnership with Boston-based Dunamis, a BIPOC-led professional development organization specializing in training and support for emerging artists and arts-managers.
Past offerings have included group and one-on-one consulting, workshops on numerous topics including artist management and media engagement, and the launch of Dexter’s L.A.B., a podcast series that highlights LAB grantees for their work and unique perspectives.
“Live Arts Boston is about more than just getting works on the stage,” said Catherine T. Morris, Director for Arts and Culture at the Boston Foundation. “It’s about breaking down the artificial and often intentional barriers that have made creating a lively, sustainable arts sector for artists of color difficult if not impossible. That means breaking down the barriers to access for rehearsal and performance space. It means paying and investing in artists to create a culture where arts and artists can be more effective and sustainable.”
Since 2017, Live Arts Boston funding has made it possible for recipients to provide millions of dollars in direct payments to artists working on their projects. In addition, the 360 grants since the beginning of the program have created a network of shared and peer resources for local artists across all performing arts disciplines and genres. A recent analysis found that more than half of LAB funds were spent to pay artists and creatives who support their work - in commissions, collaborations and rehearsal and performance compensation.
“In times like today, the role of arts and artists to share powerful truths and force us to confront our racist past is more critical than ever,” said San San Wong, Director of Arts and Creativity at the Barr Foundation. “By empowering and supporting these brilliant artists as the leaders they are, we can begin to repair the wrongs of the past and build a future where our communities reflect the full range of cultures, traditions, and voices they contain.”
Facts about the 2022 LAB Cohort:
Number of grantees: 50
Grants to individual artists: 24
Grants to groups and organizations: 26
Percentage of groups and organizations led by BIPOC: 69%*
Percentage of individual artists identifying as BIPOC: 87%**
Grant recipients by self-described career-level:
Early career: 26%; Mid-career: 54%; Experienced: 21%
Grant recipients by primary discipline:
Music: 52%; Dance: 18%; Spoken Word: 10%; Theater: 8%; Opera/Musical Theater: 6%;Performance Art: 4%; Traditional/Folk Art: 2%
Grantees receiving LAB support for the first time: 62%
Grantees who had never previously applied for a grant of any kind: 12%
Artists in the 2021 LAB Cohort represent neighborhoods across the City of Boston, as well as 16 other communities – Arlington, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Dedham, Malden, Medford, Milton, Natick, Newton, Randolph, Somerville, and Winthrop. A full list of the 2021 grantees is attached.
* : This percentage was calculated as the number of grantees who identified a majority of the lead members of their project team as non-white
** : Percentage of individual artists defining themselves as: Black/African American, Asian/Asian American, Spanish/Hispanic/Latinx, Middle Eastern, North African, or Multi-Racial
