The Somerville Arts Council is working with the City of Somerville to help provide badly needed funding to individual artists and arts organizations as they struggle with the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Max Eidelman

The Somerville Arts Council met for its third virtual town hall meeting last Tuesday. Much of the discussion concerned a year-end recap of the progress that has been made during the pandemic to support the local arts community, but plans for the future were addressed as well.

Mayor Curtatone attended the meeting, saying that “talking about the arts gives us some greater sense of humanity and hope as we think about the future.” These sound like prescient words to hold onto as we head into a new, and hopefully brighter, year.

The mayor and everyone at the meeting were grateful to the City Council for approving the request for $500K in funds for the arts. A slideshow demonstrated some of the specific ways that money has already been distributed amongst the arts community during the pandemic. For example: $161K has been distributed amongst 50 applicants for the Artist Resiliency Fund, and $201K has been distributed amongst 16 applicants for COVID-19 grants to local cultural organizations.

The mayor went on to say, though, that the Commonwealth has denied the city’s request to make CARES funding available to the arts. However, he is seeking to acquire an additional $100K for the arts in 2021 to support the local Cultural Council.

After Mayor Curtatone spoke, members of the Arts Council presented slides that showcased some of what local artists have been able to create these past months. One such project is the Home Alone series. This has featured thirty presentations since April and has allowed artists to promote their work virtually.

Another successful project, Serenading Seniors, has allowed local musicians to perform at safe distances for residents in elderly homes. This effort in particular reflects how “public art can be used to support so many other different efforts that we care about,” as Ann Hirsch said at the town hall. As the most vulnerable demographic, seniors have sadly faced a severe restriction in what they can do. Acts like Serenading Seniors that bring music and a chance for a happy diversion to the elderly reflect the potential power the arts have.

The Council began to discuss future ideas for a cultural planning process to create more physical space for the arts and further cultivate the city’s culture. This process is envisioned to take approximately 10 years and is not meant to exclusively focus on how to deal with COVID-19, but rather how to promote the arts in Somerville on a long-term basis.

One attendee at the town hall had some reservations about the length of this plan. A woman from Brickbottom Artists Association expressed some frustration with how she has seen a lot of talk about enhancing the city’s arts, but not much action. She specifically cited the unfinished project at the Art Farm.

Mayor Curtatone and the Arts Council did not try to make any excuses but said that they will work to address this. Cause for optimism can be found in the recent funding that the arts have received, and in the city’s other efforts to support the arts during these trying months.

The director of the Somerville Art’s Council, Greg Jenkins, said that folks who are interested in participating in the cultural planning process can email him at gjenkins@somervillema.gov for information about how to become involved.