The popular series returns to the Worcester Common Oval for a shortened season in 2021

The City of Worcester, in partnership with the Worcester Cultural Coalition, have announced the return of the Out to Lunch Festival and Farmers’ Market on the Worcester Common Oval, to be held Thursday, August 12 and Thursday, August 19^th, with a rain date of Thursday, August 26, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

‘Out to Lunch’ will host musical performances, area restaurants, farmers, organizations, and artisans who will sell their goods to the public, as well as local organizations and nonprofits. Applications for vendors and organizations will be open until July 19 and can be found on the City website: worcesterma.gov/worcester-common-oval/out-to-lunch. Vendors and organizations will be accepted on a rolling basis and notifications will be sent by July 21, 2021.

In its 11^th year, the Out to Lunch Festival and Farmers’ Market invites the public to shop with local vendors and food trucks, learn about community organizations, and enjoy live performances featuring Worcester-based talent.  On August 12^th, the series will feature Crocodile River Music and Niki Luparelli will perform on August 19^th. In addition to mainstage acts, the series will showcase entertainment from the community during intermissions.

As the City of Worcester is returning to public programming after the pandemic, the series will be abbreviated to two concerts. “After a temporary hiatus last season, we are thrilled to reunite the community again on the Worcester Common for one of our favorite summer events,” said Yaffa Fain, Program Coordinator for the City of Worcester’s Cultural Development Division.

“Out to Lunch has been a mainstay in Downtown for the last decade, bringing a diverse audience to the Worcester Common to revel in a shared experience that celebrates our City’s ethnic and cultural diversity, creative community and small businesses,” said City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. “We have been relentless in our efforts to vaccinate the community, allowing for in-person events like this to return.”

In order to achieve a comfortable community event for everyone, the series will be ‘mask friendly.’ Cultural Development Officer Erin Williams noted that, “We are so excited to begin bringing in-person programs back this summer, but recognize that everyone has their own level of comfort with returning to crowds. For this reason Out to Lunch will be ‘mask friendly,’ meaning people are welcomed to wear masks if they choose. In following state guidelines, those who are not vaccinated must continue to wear masks, however.”

Fain explained that the decision to shorten the traditional 10-week Out to Lunch series to 2 weeks was based on supporting the community while keeping pandemic safety in mind: “Like event producers around the world, we’ve been carefully tracking the progress of the pandemic, and waiting for the health risk to our community to be minimized. In addition to considering public health, we recognize that these events represent an investment of time and money for vendors and performers. For them to have good experiences, the community need to feel comfortable enough to attend a public gathering. The way things are going, we are confident that we’ll meet both of these goals by August.”

The 11^th Out to Lunch Summer Concert Series is supported in part by the City of Worcester, Worcester Cultural Coalition, 90.5 WICN Public Radio, Bay State Savings Bank, and Radio Worcester.

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El Salón will be the first artist in residence at the Jean McDonough Arts Center

WORCESTER, MA – March 22, 2021 – In an effort to engage and empower the creative community, the Worcester Cultural Coalition launched a pilot Artist in Residence program at the Jean McDonough Arts Center (JMAC). Creative entity El Salón will be the first to fulfill the residency, which is set to begin by mid April.

Founded in 2019 by Worcester native Vanessa Calixto, El Salón is a collective of artists that organize intentional and inclusive spaces for BIPOC artists and creatives. Their mission is to empower these groups to take space, share their skills with one another, and create their own opportunities. BrickBox managing director Olivia Scanlon notes that “the JMAC is a mechanism created to provide equitable opportunities and access for the creative community. Having a collection of BIPOC artists led by a BIPOC woman, only highlighted their already stellar residency proposal.”

“El Salón will receive mentorship, guidance from the JMAC staff, technical support, use of the JMAC spaces valued at $10,000, and up to $15,000 in discretionary funding,” noted Erin Williams, executive director of the Worcester Cultural Coalition. “The pilot Artist in Residency program is funded by our generous partners at the  Barr Foundation. The residency is an outgrowth of the Worcester Cultural Plan, committed to bring the arts and creativity to life for everyone in Worcester.”

“We are so grateful to be recognized not only for our mission and group’s effort but for our communities’ voices to be heard and to continue to be heard,” said Vanessa Calixto, founder and creative director of El Salón. “We are humbled and excited to take well deserved space for our marginalized communities.”

Upon reviewing dozens of applicants, El Salón stood out as a result of its detailed application and visual supplemental materials. “We were highly impressed by the nature of the work that they have been able to accomplish thus far as a grassroots organization of diverse and culturally-minded younger people,” noted Hank von Hellion, managing director of the Worcester PopUp at the JMAC. Von Hellion also said that El Salón, “exemplifies the kind of talent and spirit of will that needs to be embraced if we as a community truly want to keep our city creatively vibrant, accessible across all power dynamics, and appreciative of the breadth of cultural communities that call Worcester home. These are the kinds of projects and people that are redefining what it means to be from Worcester, and we are thrilled to be able to support this kind of growth and these powerful voices here at the JMAC.”

The residency project requires utilization of the entire JMAC, including the Worcester PopUp and the BrickBox Theater, as well as recording and production equipment. Additional elements require the inclusion of public development or a workshop, as well as a public event to conclude the residency consistent with evolving COVID-19 guidelines.

About the Jean McDonough Arts Center

Composed of the ever-changing “permanent” PopUp and the intimate BrickBox Theater, the Jean McDonough Arts Center (JMAC) is an initiative of the Worcester Cultural Coalition, and home to myriad creative events and cultural initiatives. Individuals and groups can present or develop a wide range of work at the JMAC, including but not limited to work in theater, dance, film, music, performance art, visual art, fashion design and video game design. Learn more at JMACWorcester.org.

About El Salón

El Salon is an intentional and inclusive space for BIPOC artists and creatives to feel empowered by taking space, sharing skills, and creating their own opportunities. Learn more at https://www.instagram.com/_el_salon_/ 

About the Worcester Cultural Coalition 

The Worcester Cultural Coalition (WCC) is a public-private partnership established in 1999 between the City of Worcester and 12 cultural organizations. In 2021, membership exceeds 80 organizations, which host over 2.7 million visitors annually, from Worcester and beyond. Its mission is to draw on Worcester’s rich and diverse cultural assets to foster economic revitalization, support active and creative engagement for all, and to promote a strong cultural identity for Greater Worcester. The WCC supports and encourages action that meets the creative goals of the Worcester Cultural Plan: promoting cultural equity and creative community engagement for all. Learn more at www.worcesterculture.org.

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WORCESTER, MA March 4, 2021 – The Worcester Arts Council is proud to announce the award of 65 grants totaling $219,100 for arts and cultural programs in Worcester in 2021.

The Worcester Arts Council (WAC) is part of a statewide network of 329 Local Cultural Councils serving all 351 cities and towns in the Commonwealth. The Local Cultural Council (LCC) Program is the largest grassroots cultural funding network in the nation, supporting thousands of community-based projects in the arts, humanities, and sciences on an annual basis. The state legislature provides an annual appropriation to the Mass Cultural Council (MCC), a state agency, which then allocates funds to each community. Decisions about which projects and programs to support are made at the community level by a board of municipally appointed volunteers.

This year, WAC received $166,700 in funding from the MCC, an increase of 6% in funding over last year. WAC also received an additional $10,000 for its Fellowship funding this year, thanks to the generous support of Greater Worcester Community Foundation’s Creative Worcester Initiative, which is funded in part by the Barr Foundation.

“Reflecting on this year’s grant cycle, there were numerous uncertainties and unpredictable delays due to COVID-19, but we remained hopeful. The Worcester Arts Council is thrilled that we were ultimately able to offer more grant funding in 2021 than ever before. With the support of the Mass Cultural Council and the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, WAC grant funds will benefit 65 local artists, individuals, organizations, and projects in Worcester this year,” said Yasmin Goris, outgoing Worcester Arts Council Chair.

2021 WAC project grants support a diverse range of programs and organizations in Worcester. The complete list of grant recipients and amounts can be found below.

WAC was also able to distribute more Fellowship grants than ever before to local artists in a variety of disciplines – musicians, comedians, visual artists, writers, and more. This includes two $5,000 Fellowship grants to filmmaker Angélique Webster and comedian Shaun Connolly, and four $2,500 Fellowship Grants to visual artist Vanessa Calixto, filmmaker Fernando Ponce, musician Tracy Ann Jones (Sunta Africa), and visual artist Ryan Gardell. The Council also issued seven $1,000 Fellowship Finalist awards.

Between January and February 2021, WAC reviewed 105 grant applications for projects ranging from public art and murals to theater workshops to podcasts to cultural festivals to historical programming. The Council takes various criteria into consideration including quality, public benefit, and alignment with its 2021 funding priorities as determined by community input through its Funding Priorities Survey. This year’s funding priorities included:

1. Project Categories – Projects that focus on Public Art, Arts Education & Instruction, Children’s Programs and Musical Performances.
2. Cultural Equity, Diversity and Inclusion – Projects that elevate the voices and experiences of historically marginalized groups to highlight the current and historical diversity of Worcester. Projects should create opportunities for artists and community members who identify as Black, Indigenous, POC, LGBTQX, refugee, immigrant, or person living with a disability.
3. Locations – Projects that take place in or benefit areas of Worcester that are historically underserved.

Statewide, more than $4.35 million will be distributed by local cultural councils in 2021. Grants will support an extensive range of grass-roots activities: concerts, exhibitions, radio and video productions, field trips for school children, after-school youth programs, writing workshops, historical preservation efforts, lectures, nature and science education programs for families, and town festivals. Nearly half of LCC funds support educational activities for young people.

“Having the opportunity to be part of an organization that supports artists, individuals, and organizations who dedicate their life’s work to providing arts and cultural programming and building community here in Worcester is an exceptional privilege,” said Goris. “I look forward to the wonderful work the Worcester Arts Council will continue to do, and I encourage the Worcester community to continue supporting local artists by attending events and promoting one another in 2021 and beyond.”

WAC intends to host a virtual grant reception celebrating all of this year’s grant recipients in spring 2021. The Worcester Arts Council will seek applications again in Fall 2021 for the grant year 2022. Applications and more information about the Local Cultural Council Program are available at www.mass-culture.org. Application details will be announced on www.worcesterma.gov.

The 2021 Worcester Arts Council grant recipients and amounts are as follows, and can be found online at WorcesterMA.gov:

Worcester Arts Council 2021 Grant Recipients

About the Worcester Arts Council:
The Worcester Arts Council (WAC) is a municipal body consisting of nine embers appointed by the City Manager. The Council is charged with promoting the cultural affairs of the City of Worcester and allocating funds received by the Council for cultural project and programs. The mission of the Worcester Arts Council is to promote excellence, access, education and diversity in the arts, humanities and interpretative sciences to improve the quality of life for Worcester residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our City. The Worcester Arts Council is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency. For more information visit: www.worcesterma.gov/wac. Current Worcester Arts Council members are Yasmin Goris (Chair), Jennifer Riley (Vice Chair), Lisa Malo (Secretary), Mitchell Perry (Treasurer), Silvana Boaheng, Chris Rich, David Filar, Brandon Lewis, and George Sedares.

About the Massachusetts Cultural Council:
The Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) is a state agency that promotes excellence, access, education, and diversity in the arts, humanities, and interpretive sciences to improve the quality of life for all Massachusetts residents and contribute to the economic vitality of our communities. The Council pursues this mission through a combination of grant programs, partnerships, and services for nonprofit cultural organizations, schools, communities, and artists. For more information visit: massculturalcouncil.org

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The Worcester Cultural Coalition’s annual Legislative Breakfast will be attended by local, regional, and state legislatures who want to learn how to better support the arts.

Click here to register for the Legislative Breakfast on Zoom.

Build your action plan to advocate for the arts using these ideas.

WORCESTER, MA February 23, 2021 – Since 2005, the Worcester Cultural Coalition’s annual Legislative Breakfast has been an opportunity for local arts, culture, and creative workers and organizations to express their concerns to their legislatures directly, and for legislatures to share their progress in return. On March 5, 2021, the call for engagement and the conversation to follow will be unlike those before it.

“Arts, culture, and creativity are the secret sauce which brings Worcester to life, from performance venues and museums, to arts education, and beyond,” said Worcester City Manager Edward M. Augustus, Jr. “As much as local leaders and government officials may aim to support the creative sector, it is important to make sure the work we are doing is equal to the task, and, as we have had to do during the COVID-19 pandemic, to adjust our courses if necessary.”

“Conversations during the WCC’s Legislative Breakfast shed light on the powerful work of the creative sector, and address advocacy, funding, and opportunities. Between the pandemic’s impact on the cultural community, systemic issues of inequity, and the release of Worcester’s Cultural Plan, there’s a lot of ground to cover,” said Erin Williams, executive director of the Worcester Cultural Coalition.

The agenda for the 90-minute program includes a poem presented by Worcester Youth Poet Laureate Amina Mohammed and brief presentations on the states of shuttered venues, youth arts education, and community-based equity. These presentations will be followed by a discussion moderated by Michael Bobbitt, newly appointed executive director of the Mass Cultural Council, with Congressman Jim McGovern, Senator Harriette Chandler, and City Manager Augustus.

Williams notes that the past year has been a year to remember. “Between the pandemic, social justice, and climate change, the challenges we face in our creative community and as a society can’t be ignored. Creative minds are adept at pivoting and we are ready to meet all challenges to build a better creative city. Much of our individual and collective work has gone virtual, which in many ways has made it easier for people to experience programs and exchange ideas. It’s a welcome addition to the ways we can engage with everyone.”

According to the most recent data collected by the Mass Cultural Council, the pandemic has had a significant impact on cultural organizations in Massachusetts. More than $484 million in revenue was lost between March and October 2020, and over 30,000 jobs were affected in the same time period. Grants, loans, and other economic relief programs have been announced and are ongoing, as have many other initiatives. With the many changes in the world over the past year, Williams says the job isn’t done once these initiatives are rolled out; measuring their success is essential as well.

“The cultural community’s needs are great, and we have a long history of bringing people together and finding creative solutions to life’s challenges. We believe our embrace of technology over the last year will increase the impact of this year’s Legislative Breakfast, and it will be inspiring,” Williams said.

Register for the 2021 Legislative Breakfast, from 8:30 – 10am on Friday, March 5 on Zoom: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcrdOmspj8rHdLvc2BQGtv-3Lvuo4ekf72w

The public are invited to submit questions to the Legislative panel, keeping in mind that this conversation will focus on to arts, culture, and creative community topics. Submit questions to Culture@WorcesterMA.gov by Thursday, March 4 at 9am.

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The Jean McDonough Arts Center seeks applications for its first artistic residency program, to begin in spring 2021.

WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS – February 18, 2021 – In its ongoing work to support local arts and culture, the Worcester Cultural Coalition is pleased to announce its pilot Artist Residency Program at the Jean McDonough Arts Center. Applications will be open until 5pm March 5, 2021, with the residency to begin by April 15.

The Jean McDonough Arts Center, or JMAC, is a unique, multi-space venue with a team dedicated to cultivating creative engagement and access for all. Applications are open to all creative disciplines and to all greater-Worcester based individual artists, collectives, and nonprofit organizations in the arts, culture, and humanitarian fields. Creatives of all backgrounds, cultures, and demographics are invited to apply.

“The JMAC was created in response to gaps identified by many members of the Worcester Cultural Coalition: the desire for a multi-purpose space for exhibitions, performances, and beyond, and the need to amplify marginalized voices, which have historically been excluded from creative, educational, and funding opportunities,” said Erin Williams, executive director of the Worcester Cultural Coalition. 

“Manifesting this Residency Program feels like the next step, in a long series of big steps, towards the JMAC being truly integrated in the framework for success of our diverse creative community,” noted Hank von Hellion, managing director of the Worcester PopUp.

According to BrickBox managing director Olivia Scanlon, an ideal Residency project will not only inspire Worcester audiences, but also make use of the entire JMAC, including the Worcester PopUp, the BrickBox Theater, and the streaming and recording equipment in the venues. The Residency must also include a public development or workshop component, and must conclude with a public event – one Scanlon said should be, “flexible enough to accommodate a mixture of in-person and virtual attendees, depending on how the pandemic evolves.” The selected applicant will receive mentorship, guidance from the JMAC staff, technical support, use of the JMAC spaces valued at $10,000, and up to $15,000 in discretionary funding. 

For more information on the Artist Residency Program at the JMAC, including deadlines and the full application, visit JMACWorcester.org/residency.

The pilot Artist Residency Program at the Jean McDonough Arts Center is offered by the Worcester Cultural Coalition, in partnership with Jean McDonough and the Barr Foundation.

About the Jean McDonough Arts Center: Comprised of the ever-changing “permanent” PopUp and the intimate BrickBox Theater, the Jean McDonough Arts Center (JMAC) is an initiative of the Worcester Cultural Coalition, and home to myriad creative events and cultural initiatives. Individuals and groups can present or develop a wide range of work at the JMAC, including but not limited to work in theatre, dance, film, music, performance art, visual art, fashion design and video game design. Learn more at JMACWorcester.org.

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