Photo Nights Boston presented Photorama, a night celebrating photography and the arts in Boston, as an ArtWeek event. Featuring large-scale projections of photographs from Photo Nights Boston’s open-call and images from youth participating in the Artists for Humanity’s photography program, this fun, free inclusive event catered to everyone from professional photographers to iPhoneography addicts. Event hosts said “Because this was the first time for our organization holding a free event of this size we did not know what to expect in terms of turn out. So, when the registration hit 800 attendees we stopped registering people for tickets . . . we just didn't anticipate the excitement and the amount of buzz that we would receive. A good problem to have! Photo courtesy of Artists for Humanity

Updates
Happy New Year! We are excited about 2014 which means double the ArtWeek fun – yes, one in Spring (April 25-May 4, 2014) and one next Fall. While December was filled with feedback meetings and focus groups, January is focused on looking forward. In fact, this week the new Spring ArtWeek application and an updated FAQ will be posted on the website announcing some exciting changes that make it easier to participate with added benefits including:

Pricing is now on a sliding scale from free to $50: We’ve created a more flexible range to encourage a greater diversity of events while keeping it accessible to the greater public. Last fall more than 50% of events were free.

Rolling Deadline: Timing is everything and the rolling deadline accommodates events that need both long and short lead times.

Partnership Facilitation/Coaching: Forming new partnerships was one of the biggest benefits for fall event hosts. For those who need a jumpstart on partnership strategies, a unique ArtWeek networking event will be held in February. Additionally, the ArtWeek team will be providing one-on-one coaching throughout and offering several information sessions.

Marketing: Fall focused on introducing the ArtWeek brand, but this spring will expand individual event listings and promotions with a new pocket guide.

Recent Wins
Beyond Boston: Thanks to the help and support of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Creative Economy Industry Director Helena Fruscio, the ArtWeek team completed 11 (!) thirty-minute conference calls in one day to introduce the ArtWeek concept to leaders across the state. Overall response was positive and interest was high, but equally important were the conversations about potential ArtWeek opportunities and challenges in each of their different communities as the ArtWeek expansion model evolves. Marketing: The first ArtWeek marketing advisory group is meeting in January to brainstorm and plan for the Spring and includes over 15 enthusiastic creative professionals. Future meetings will expand to include public relations and social media representatives. ArtWeek pARTnership event: In partnership with the W Boston Hotel, a special evening reception will be hosted at this downtown theatre district boutique hotel to introduce potential ArtWeek partners to each other. The goal of the evening is to encourage co-created ArtWeek events between arts, cultural, and creative individuals and those from local restaurants, hotels, and other local businesses.

Insight/Provocation
On January 6, 2014, a new Mayor was inaugurated in Boston—the first time in twenty years that there has been a new person in that office! And for the first time in many years, the Boston arts, cultural, and creative community collectively and effectively advocated during the mayoral preliminaries – and people listened. As a result, the new mayor (Marty Walsh) has pledged to appoint a cabinet-level arts commissioner, invest in arts and cultural initiatives, and implement a policy plan that integrates arts planning into other city priorities including education, economic development, public safety, housing, and transportation. While the Arts Commissioner is yet to be appointed, he has announced a Chief of Policy (Joyce Linehan) to his new cabinet last week – someone who is best known in the local community for her passionate commitment to the arts and music scene. As August Wilson wrote “All art is political in that is serves someone’s politics” (The Paris Review, Winter 1999). Let’s hope that in this case it serves everyone’s politics in making our community an even more amazing place to live, work, and visit.

Want to follow ArtWeek’s progress as we start planning for Spring (April 25 - May 4, 2014)? Connect with us at:

www.artweekboston.org
www.facebook.com/artweekboston
www.twitter.com/artweekboston