Fiscal Year 2019 Budget

Beginning July 1, 2018 and ending June 30, 2019

Last updated: 7/1/18

Arts and Culture

The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture released the City’s first cultural plan, Boston Creates, in 2016, calling for increased support to Boston’s arts and culture ecosystem.

The City continues to infuse more art into the fabric of city life through groundbreaking investments highlighted in Boston Creates, the Mayor’s cultural plan for the City. The FY19 budget features increased support to Boston’s arts and culture ecosystem.

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Investing in the Arts

The Mayor is continuing groundbreaking arts investments made in FY17 that are key to implementing Boston Creates:

The Percent for Art Program

The City budgeted $1.7 million in public art projects in FY18. In FY19, the City will budget another $1.7 million in new capital dollars along with a new dedicated project manager to ensure the seamless rollout of public art projects into the future. This innovative model funds public art projects as a part of the City’s expanding capital plan.

Artist Fellowship Programs

In FY19 the City will launch the second round of an artist fellowship program in response to feedback in the Boston Creates process that we identify new funding streams for Boston artists. The fellowship supports elevating Boston creatives and five artists were awarded in FY18.

Building Thriving Community Libraries

In FY19, the Mayor’s capital plan supports major renovation or new construction at three branch libraries and smaller-scale updates at four additional library branches.

In FY19, construction work will continue at the Dudley Branch. This $17.2 million project includes reorienting the entrance, interior renovations to improve connections between the building’s spaces, and enhanced community and programming space.

The capital plan also supports the major renovations project at the Roslindale Branch and the construction of a new Adams Street Branch in the upcoming year.

Preserving Boston Public Library’s Special Collections

The City will begin construction on a major capital project in FY19 to help preserve the Library’s valuable and historic special collections of rare books and manuscripts. This $15.7 million project includes an inventory of the Central Library in Copley Square’s Rare Books & Manuscripts Department’s nearly 250,000 rare books and one million manuscripts.

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