Boston awarded $100,000 grant by National Endowment for the Arts

The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture today announced the City of Boston was awarded a grant of $100,000 by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to develop a Latin Quarter Cultural District in Hyde Square. The grant is one of 60 awards totaling $4.1 million supporting projects across the nation through the NEA’s Our Town program. 

“The variety and quality of these Our Town projects speaks to the wealth of creativity and diversity in our country,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “Through the work of organizations such as the Hyde Square Task Force in Boston, NEA funding invests in local communities, helping people celebrate the arts wherever they are.”

The grant will be used to establish the City’s fourth cultural district in Boston’s Hyde Square neighborhood of Jamaica Plain, which will be known as the Latin Quarter Cultural District. The City will work in partnership with Hyde Square Task Force, which will drive the project by collaborating with a planning consultant, leading workshops with their pro bono marketing consultant, and working with a number of artists, including artists in residence. 

Hyde Square is a very diverse neighborhood with a strong immigrant community, and is known for its abundance of Latino specialty shops, restaurants, and businesses. Hyde Square Task Force also owns the former Blessed Sacrament Basilica, an architectural icon in the Latin Quarter, and is seeking partners to develop it into an Afro-Latin Cultural/Events Center.

“The creation of the Latin Quarter Cultural District is a significant step toward accomplishing several goals of the Boston Creates cultural plan, including to create fertile ground for a vibrant and sustainable arts and culture ecosystem,” said Julie Burros, Chief of Arts and Culture for the City of Boston. “I am eager to see Boston’s Latino community be celebrated and supported for years to come as a result of this cultural district.”

"We are thrilled to partner with the City of Boston, the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and local Afro-Latin artists to bring vibrancy to Boston's Latin Quarter and to create a long range plan for this cultural district," said Celina Miranda, Hyde Square Task Force Executive Director. 

For a complete list of projects recommended for Our Town grant support, please visit the NEA website. To join the Twitter conversation about this announcement, please tag the NEA @NEAarts and use the hashtag #NEASpring18. To learn more about the City of Boston’s cultural districts, visit here.