Artist resource manager hired to serve as City liaison to local arts

Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the hiring of Julia Ryan as the Artist Resource Manager in the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture. The position, included as one of the action items in Boston Creates, is newly created and will act as a single point of entry to City Hall for creative people and businesses looking to find information about a wide range of issues, from permitting and licensing processes to affordable housing, and financial literacy to small business support.

"I am thrilled that we are opening up an important channel of communication between local artists and their city government by creating an Artist Resource Manager," said Mayor Walsh. "Responding to the needs of artists is a crucial part of the cultural plan, and I am confident that Julia will do an exceptional job in serving as a liaison to our creative community."

The Artist Resource Manager position was first proposed during one of the Mayor's many conversations with members of the artist community, and envisioned during the cultural planning process as a liaison specifically for artists, modeled after the coordinators in the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services. The City heard from the community that artists have some specialized needs and would be best served by someone who understands artists and arts organizations, as well as City systems.

In 2015, Mayor Walsh launched Boston Creates, a cultural planning process designed to create a long-term plan for arts and culture. When the plan was unveiled in 2016, it detailed five goals designed to create a cultural shift in the city: building a sustainable arts ecosystem, supporting Boston artists, promoting cultural equity, integrating arts and culture into all aspects of civic life and engaging both likely and unlikely partners, uniting them in the goal of ensuring Boston becomes a leading city for the arts.

"I am so excited to have Julia join our team," said Julie Burros, Chief of Arts and Culture for the City of Boston. "She has many years of experience of working directly with artists and we know that she will bring that experience to bear as she enters this new role at City Hall."

The goal of this position is to help creative people find the resources and assistance they need to do creative projects. Not only will Julia help artists and arts navigate City Hall, she will also serve as an aggregator of information and resources, focused on artists and creative practice. Ms. Ryan will be located at the Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture in Rm. 802 at City Hall and can be reached at 617-635-ARTS (2787).

Julia formerly served as an Arts in Education Council Consultant at Harvard Graduate School of Education in Cambridge, where she worked to advance developmental goals for the school's arts department initiatives. Prior to that, Julia worked as an Education and Development Coordinator at the Urbano Project and a volunteer curator at Unbound Visual Artists. She graduated with a Master of Education degree from Harvard Graduate School of Education, and lives in Jamaica Plain.

The Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture's mission is to support artists, the cultural sector, and to promote access to the arts for all. The office houses the Boston Cultural Council, the Boston Art Commission, and the Poet Laureate program. Responsibilities include implementing the City's cultural plan, Boston Creates; managing the Boston Artist-in-Residence program; curating exhibitions in City Hall; and operating the historic Strand Theater in Dorchester. Learn more about Arts and Culture.