This editorial was originally published in Boston Compass #59 (November 14′)

The size-able and varied experimental & underground music and performance culture in Boston has no legal place to call home. Outside of museums in Boston there are no legal, safe venues offering a social experience in a setting conducive and welcoming to artistic expression and creativity in general. Under Mayor Walsh’s guidance I hope to see such venues created. Indeed, communities from Roxbury to Jamaica Plain to Allston to South Boston deserve such a space; as indeed do Bostonians of ALL AGES across communities. Having legal spaces which promote collaboration and idea exchange between artists of different mediums on a nightly basis, while also creating jobs, is a crucial component to fostering a healthy artistic and creative ecosystem in Boston.

There is more to a healthy artistic and creative ecosystem than making social artistic experiences more common however. In order for such experiences to exist in the first place there are a number of other factors which I trust Mayor Walsh and Chief of Arts and Culture Julie Burros are already considering in their commitment to fostering a new creative vibrancy in Boston:

– Affordable small to mid-size performance spaces for housing social artistic experiences. Such spaces serve many kinds of artists, offering space in which to perform and hone their craft before an audience.

– More affordable living space for working artists of all kinds: sculptors, musicians, filmmakers, painters, writers, visual artists, etc. Lower rents = more time spent creating art.

– Affordable work/ practice space for artists. Artists need private space to work on their craft. Lower work/ practice space rent = more time spent creating art.

We @ the Boston Compass, Boston Hassle, and BRAIN Arts Org are committed to making Boston the shining example of arts, music, and creative culture that we all know it can be. Share your thoughts/ ideas @ [email protected]
– Dan Shea