MACDC Release Report on Member Activity in the Creative Community Development

MACDC set out earlier this year to learn more about what our members are doing to participate within and grow the creative economy here in Massachusetts. We knew our members were involved in a wide variety of activities, but what we learned surprised even us!

According to our newly released report, Creative Community Development in Massachusetts,  22 CDCs are actively engaged in fostering the creative economy, while 17 are involved in creative placemaking and 14 use arts and culture in their community organizing work (a total of 29 groups responded to our survey).  Clearly, CDCs across Massachusetts are investing significant time, energy and resources to stimulate and draw upon creative enterprises and expression to further their organization’s mission and goals.

Some of MACDC’s members have been engaged in these efforts for decades, while others are new to exploring methods where an emphasis on creative engagement through arts, literature and music, can further transform their work. Their activities may add renewed vitality to their communities and further transform neighborhoods and towns across Massachusetts. An emphasis on local culture and geography is a way for people to celebrate their communities, connect with a transcendent history – through art, music and storytelling – and reimagine a vibrant future view of a community that connects seamlessly with its past.  And the trend line is clear – more and more groups are incorporating the arts into their work in exciting and creative ways.

Learn more about what CDCs are doing to develop and support the creative economy in their regions through our report:  “Creative Community Development in Massachusetts.”