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We’re postponing… but! In response to the Massachusetts’s Governor’s guidance in response to the outbreak of COVID-19, we’re postponing this event. In the meantime, however, we’re still thinking about these important issues, and know you are, too. We invite you to sign up here to receive occasional emails on this and related topics. We apologize for any inconvenience and look forward to being in touch!
How might creative acts of remembering and imagining in public help us reframe the past and present–and see more inclusive futures?
Join the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) and New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) for a conversation that explores the power of public art to catalyze critical dialogue around public memory, representation, and belonging, and to transform public life. You’ll hear from artists, curators, and organizers who use creative strategies to reframe public memory and imagine future possibilities for more inclusive, thriving spaces and communities.
Guest Speakers:
Paul Farber – Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Monument Lab and Senior Research Scholar at the Center for Public Art and Space at the University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design (keynote speaker and moderator)
Erin Genia (Dakota/ Odawa) – Multidisciplinary artist, educator and cultural worker specializing in Indigenous arts and culture
Kate Gilbert – Executive Director of Now + There
Stephen Hamilton – Artist and educator, based in Boston
This event is part of a series organized by the MAPC’s Arts and Culture Department and NEFA’s Public Art Department in conjunction with MAPC’s MetroCommon 2050 planning process. This unique, cross-sector initiative brings together artists and creators, planners, and policymakers to discuss the evolving relationship among public art, public memory, and public policy and to explore how artists can envision and shape more inclusive, thriving spaces and communities in Greater Boston.
The Medfield Anthology is a site-informed performance piece written by playwright and Metropolitan Area Planning Council Artist-in-Residence Hortense Gerardo.
Featuring local Medfield talent from The Gazebo Players and performances by members of the Boston Dance Theater!
First created as an immersive walking play through the Medfield State Hospital grounds, the play portrays the Medfield State Hospital in its many facets – not only a place where patients went for psychiatric care, but also where community members attended an annual Harvest Ball, young lovers went to movie screenings in the chapel, and youngsters competed in Little League games.
The cast and crew of The Medfield Anthology are excited to present the play in an exciting new online format. Featuring a new scene about the 1918 flu pandemic and a movement piece adapted for viewing on computer screens, the latest version of this play takes on surprising relevance—as does the history of the site itself.
Followed by a Q&A with Medfield Town Planner Sarah Raposa and Cultural Alliance of Medfield Director Jean Mineo about future plans for the chapel and the rest of the MSH campus
Register for tickets here to receive a link to the free performance!
For more information, visit: https://medfieldculture.org or www.mapc.org/msh-events.
The Commonwealth recently announced that residents and staff of public and subsidized senior housing are eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations as part of the first tier of Phase II of the vaccine rollout. This step is anticipated to begin later this month.
With this opportunity comes the need to quickly arrange vaccination opportunities for some of state’s most vulnerable residents. This requires coordination among three groups: municipal officials and staff, including local boards of health; owners and managers of public and subsidized senior housing, including local housing authorities; and medical providers who can staff clinics and vaccinate residents.
Please join us on Tuesday, February 9 to learn how cities and towns can support vaccination in senior housing facilities.
Webinar speakers will include:
Robin Lipson, Deputy Secretary, Executive Office of Elder Affairs
Emily Cooper, Chief Housing Officer, Executive Office of Elder Affairs
There will be an opportunity to ask questions!
More information from the Commonwealth on COVID-19 vaccinations for senior housing setting is available here.
Join us for a conversation with staff from Franklin, Boston, Beverly, and Arlington as they chart a path to response and recovery for artists and arts organizations. We will be sharing preliminary findings of our regional survey and discussing how to provide more outdoor cultural programming as a safe COVID-19 strategy.
Municipal Webinar
Economic Development Administration American rescue plan act programs and funding
The Economic Development Administration received $3 billion in supplemental funding to assist communities in their economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
EDA is making funding available through six innovative “challenges.” This webinar will review those funding categories and provide guidance about eligible projects, submitting applications, and developing partnerships.
Read more about EDA’s ARPA funding and the six challenges here.
After you register for this webinar, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Municipal Webinar
How Municipalities can make meaningful investments with ARPA dollars
Massachusetts cities and towns have received $3.4 billion dollars through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA)’s State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. These dollars present an opportunity to make critical investments in communities and especially those that were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. This federal funding can help set the stage for an equitable and resilient recovery.
Join us for a discussion with Doug Howgate from the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation on how cities and towns can make these strategic investments for a more prosperous and equitable region.
Speakers include:
- Lizzi Weyant, Director of Government Affairs, Metropolitan Area Planning Council
- Doug Howgate, Executive Vice President, Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Melrose, Malden, and Medford worked with the MAPC to collaboratively develop sustainable and resilient building design guidelines for residential and mixed-use developments and retrofits. These voluntary guidelines will help these communities encourage developers to build more more affordable housing that is energy-efficient and climate-resilient.
Join us for an interactive webinar on April 26 at 12:00 p.m. to learn about the guidelines and hear from the communities about how they plan to use them to shape green, affordable development.
Please join us for this webinar to learn more about a new MAPC Section 3A decision-making support tool!
Background
In 2021, the Massachusetts Legislature added a new section to the state’s Zoning Act (MGL Chapter 40A) — MBTA Communities Multifamily Zoning Requirement (Section 3A) — that requires each municipality in the MBTA district to zone for by-right multifamily housing near transit stations or smart growth locations.
MAPC has developed an interactive MBTA Communities Multifamily Zoning Requirement (Section 3A) District Suitability Analysis Tool to help municipalities within the MAPC region identify locations for 3A zoning districts that also advance regional and local goals.
This Webinar
MAPC staff will provide an overview of the tool’s use and showcase how it may be applied, in tandem with stakeholder-driven processes, to facilitate conversations around areas suitable for new housing production.
Register to join us for this event
Questions? Please contact:
Emma Battaglia (ebattaglia@mapc.org)
Join us for the launch of MAPC’s Access Language Guide for Municipalities, a tool to support establishing your Language Access practices. We are excited to announce that Massachusetts State Senator Sal DiDomenico will be joining us as Keynote Speaker for this event!
Learn about:
- Developing an understanding of the needs of your linguistic communities and how to respond to them,
- First steps you can take towards establishing language access in your community,
- The intersection of Language & Disability Access,
- How to staff for Language Access, and
- Language Access and Events, and so much more!
This Guide will help support you in taking your language access work beyond providing interpretation and translation services within your community to:
- Developing trust with people who speak different languages,
- Creating opportunities to celebrate people’s cultures,
- Investing in building the skills of community members.
Register for this virtual event
Questions? Please contact:
Sasha Parodi (sparodi@mapc.org) and
Najee Nunnally (nnunnally@mapc.org)