BRAIN Arts Org—the non-profit entity that organizes Boston Hassle shows, the BH website, and this here paper, Boston Compass—has a clearly defined mission: Foster an innovative, compelling, and interconnected music, art, and film community in the Greater Boston area through grassroots and inclusive participatory culture. But we still get asked all the time what it is that we do. So what is it, really, that we are up to every Monday night?

Well, Boston’s music and art communities have suffered due to the combined forces of rising rents, a lack of available real estate, a dearth of creative jobs, and a lack of state- and city-level support.  BRAIN Arts’s true goals revolve around figuring out solutions to these problems and in the meantime creating as many opportunities as possible for artists and musicians to gain exposure locally and around the world, via the ever-growing reach of our media efforts. Shows and performances, dance nights, art/artisan markets, the Hassle website and the Compass newspaper: All have potential to grow. With our show-booking concern alone we generated $39,000* last year to pay touring and local bands to do their thing, including our annual Hassle Fest and NEUMF.

We exist to be used by the creative people of Boston and New England as a medium to further the reach of their music, art, and ideas. No one in the organization gets paid for making any of the aforementioned happen; we are all volunteers acting with a love of the arts and a love of New England. It is an exciting time for us: We have an amazing new website (bostonhassle.com), great new web content, more shows than ever, and new projects afoot such as our burgeoning education initiative. We meet every Monday in Harvard Square @ the Democracy Center if you ever want to stop by. BRAIN Arts Org is here to stay.

—Dan Shea

This article originally appeared in issue #63 of the Boston Compass, April 2015.

* this number has been updated to $39,000 here, from the initial incorrect printed estimate of $22,000.