We were honored today to offer testimony at the Boston City Council hearing on arts and culture, convened by Councillor Michelle Wu. Our Director of New Work, Ilana Brownstein, spoke on behalf of the company as a whole. Heres the text of her testimony: ... Good afternoon. My name is Ilana Brownstein, and I am here to speak on behalf of Company One Theatre. Thank you to Councillor Wu, and the rest of the Boston City Council for calling this hearing. We are thrilled at the place the arts have taken in the new Walsh Administration, and look forward to many more of these conversations. Company One is a 15-year-old theatre in residence at the Boston Center for the Arts, and was founded to unite Boston’s disparate communities through innovative, socially provocative performance, and developing civically engaged artists. Last year, we were honored to receive an Official Resolution by Councillor Pressley for our “countless contributions to Boston’s Art community and dedication to diversifying arts and theater in Boston.” Today, we encourage the Council to create a clear long-term Cultural Vision for the city of Boston. We ask that you to continue direct support of arts organizations, while considering the following specifics: • Match the funds currently given by the Boston Cultural Council • Implement separate funding streams for organizations and individuals, and maintain organizational funding as general operating support • Consider creating multi-year funding cycles. National and local funders, such as The Boston Foundation, have recognized the vital need for general support and longer term funding to help properly capitalize the industry. • Invest in organizational and individual capacity-building and workforce development • Invest in the salaries of administrators and leaders of arts organizations, enabling them to pull in more resources from diverse funding streams. See Seattle’s “Arts Mean Business” program for a successful template. (seattle.gov/arts/funding/arts_mean_business.asp) • Increase investment in the Boston Youth Fund, encouraging more collaborations with arts organizations. Company One has worked extremely successfully with BYF, and we look forward to other groups also having this chance • Fund internship/fellowship positions for Boston Public School graduates attending college, thus helping to create tomorrow’s visionary leaders through mentorship, and increasing college completion • Become a connector between the business/corporate sector (especially the tech/science sector) and arts organizations. We need your leadership to help both sectors see how much they can benefit each other and the city at large • Centralize marketing and promotion for all arts and cultural programming so that residents and visitors alike understand the vibrancy of this city’s cultural life • Invest in Creative Placemaking: level the resources you have, and involve diverse voices to create active places where people want to linger and engage, where businesses want to invest, and that helps people see a better future. In other words, vital and vibrant communities and neighborhoods for all citizens of the city we share. On behalf of everyone at Company One Theatre, thank you again for inviting us to be heard today and we are excited to continue this conversation — and all of the tremendous work we are going to do together — well into the future
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 23:26:50 +0000