ARTS ACTIVATE BOSTON: CAMPAIGN PAGE
Image of the Boston skyline
Graphic of Boston Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC) Spending 2015-2027. Created by Boston Art Review.
BOSTON’S CREATIVES SHOWED UP BIG AT THE 4/30 BUDGET HEARING
Pushing Back on Proposed 27% Cut to 2027 Arts Budget
In early April, Mayor Wu submitted her FY2027 budget to Boston City Council with more than $50 million in cuts due to the high costs of snow removal this year, higher costs of employee health insurance, and overall inflation.
The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture (MOAC)’s budget is slated to have $1.2 million cut from their department in FY2027, amounting to a 27% cut. The proposed cuts would eliminate critical community-based grants, reduce staff capacity within MOAC, and disrupt the city’s Artists in Residence program.
Each spring, Boston’s Mayor submits a budget for the next fiscal year to Boston City Council for review. Over six weeks, the City Council holds 35 to 40 hearings on different parts of the budget before the City Council sends an amended budget back to the Mayor. A balanced budget must be in place by the end of June, as the new fiscal year begins July 1.
The Arts Activate Boston Coalition, a group of Boston’s arts and cultural sector leaders, is organizing a rapid response “Fund Boston’s Arts” campaign to advocate for the reinstatement of Boston’s FY2027 arts budget. Join the coalition today to get more involved.
More than 160 creatives, teaching artists, arts leaders, and representatives from arts organizations across Boston gathered at Boston City Hall on April 30 to advocate for the restoration of the city’s FY2027 Arts and Culture budget during a nearly four-hour-long City Council budget hearing.
The budget hearing, chaired by Boston City Councilor Benjamin Weber, drew such a large turnout in the Iannella Chamber that the room quickly reached capacity, becoming standing room only. Due to the overwhelming attendance, city staff established an overflow area where additional advocates watched the proceedings via livestream.
Attendees delivered live testimony over many hours, urging City Councilors to reject the proposed 27% reduction to MOAC, noting the negative impact the cut would have not only on Boston’s artists and creative workers, but also on delivering needed arts programs to Boston’s residents, families, and neighborhoods.
This level of turnout and engagement is both important and impressive: when the arts sector demonstrates our ability to mobilize and speak in one voice, we help our elected officials focus on our issues.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Over the next few weeks, Boston’s City Council will continue holding budget hearings and the Ways and Means Committee will develop their version of the budget for the City Council to vote on.
The City Council must vote on their version of the budget by the second Wednesday in June (June 10, 2026). It's important to remember: the City Council can reject, reduce, or amend the Mayor's proposed budget as long as the total value of budget amendments do not exceed the total amount proposed by the Mayor.
Following the City Council’s vote, the Mayor can approve or veto the budget, on or before July 1.
WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW!
Showing up for the City Council budget hearing is just the first step in Boston’s collective advocacy to restore arts funding for FY2027.
Here are four things every arts supporter can do now to help raise awareness of how these budget cuts will impact Boston’s arts and culture sector:
If you live or work in Boston proper, submit written testimony to Boston City Council by May 22. You can use our automated form and include your specific story of impact. This written testimony will be included in the official hearing record.
Email the City Council to share your opposition to these cuts.
Officially join the Arts Activate Boston Coalition’s Fund Boston’s Arts advocacy campaign as an individual creative or an arts organization (or both). Showing elected officials we are organized and we oppose this budget cut, in numbers, matters. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP.
Share these calls to action with your community, your networks, your audiences, and board members. You can download these graphics for Instagram or Facebook to post about these actions and get the word out.
SUBMIT WRITTEN TESTIMONY TO THE BOSTON CITY COUNCIL WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE
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Email To:
CC:
Suggested Subject Line:
PLEASE RESTORE BOSTON’S ARTS BUDGET!
Suggested Email Body:
Dear Boston City Council,
I write to you today with grave concern about the proposed 27% cut to Boston’s arts and culture budget for fiscal year 2027.
I understand many city departments’ budgets are being cut due to rising costs, snow removal and healthcare, but the proposed cut to arts is very steep to an already small budget. This cut, on top of the end of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and cuts to national funding, combined, are devastating to Boston’s artists, musicians, performers, teaching artists, arts administrators, and arts organizations. The cuts will impact support to existing programs, access to arts and culture, and replenishing the arts and culture staff.
The arts are a large part of what makes Boston, Boston. It’s part of why companies choose to house their businesses here - there’s lots for their workers to do in Boston. The arts also contribute greatly to Boston’s economic heath: every time someone participates in an arts event, they also spend money on transportation, parking, dining, and shopping. Finally, and most importantly, the arts help us connect to ourselves, to each other, and to the world.
Arts are a necessity, not an accessory. Please restore the arts budget.
Thanks for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your address, if you live in Boston
Your organization, if you work in Boston
For further questions about this campaign, please contact ArtsActivateBoston@gmail.com.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ISSUE:
City Budget Media Coverage:
“Over 150 Artists and Arts Administrators Turn out to Testify at the City Council Ways and Means Budget Hearing as City Council Cites ‘Limited Power’” (Boston Art Review)
May 1, 2026 - Week in Review: The Venice Biennale, nude art, and Jimmy Kimmel vs. Trump (The Culture Show Podcast)
“Mayor Wu’s Cut to FY 2027 Arts Budget Reveals Broader History of Underinvestment in the Arts and Leaves Programs in Limbo” (Boston Art Review)
“‘We don’t have those resources anymore.’ Wu’s $4.9 billion budget proposal slashes many city grant programs” (The Boston Globe)
“At Boston budget unveiling, Mayor Wu defends proposed public school funding” (GBH)
“Wu releases $4.9 billion budget proposal amid ‘difficult moment’ for city’s finances” (Boston.com)
City Issued Press Release:
Link to City of Boston’s Budget Process:
Link to City of Boston’s FY2027 Budget:
