City Hall Plaza Engagement Grant

As the epicenter of the City of Boston, City Hall Plaza is a place where all Boston residents, visitors, and newcomers have access to participate in arts and cultural events. The goal of City Hall Plaza is to create a space for convening, inspiration, and celebration that uplifts the community, highlights history, and influences the future of Boston’s cultural ecosystem. 

City Hall Plaza, formally known as Scollay Square, was a thriving community intersection filled with artists, activists, sports legends, and many venues. In the 1950’s the intersection was rebuilt but left many people without a space to be, work, or create. Similarly, today many community organizations and independent artists are experiencing an immense feeling of loss due to building closures, infrastructure changes, and limited public activity due to COVID-19. The recent closures of venues such as the Milky Way and Makeshift Boston have left an increasing number of Boston communities and artists without a space to program or attend performances, cultural gatherings, or citywide activities. This has led to many artists and cultural workers leaving Boston or significantly downsizing successful programs that serve several neighborhoods. 

To honor the communal grief that the arts and culture sector is facing and respond to those most impacted by space inequity, the Mayor's Office of Arts & Culture (MOAC) will provide grants for programs and events to be held at City Hall Plaza. Through the City Hall Plaza Engagement Grant, MOAC aims to highlight programming that uplifts Boston’s diverse communities, responds to the current arts and culture climate, and restores the use of City Hall Plaza as a core space for people within the arts and culture sector

The selection process for the City Hall Plaza Engagement Grant is guided by the following core values: 

• Vision: Programming that elevates arts, culture, and/or creative expression
• Commitment to Equity: City Hall Plaza is a space for everyone and will prioritize groups, individuals, and/or programming with demonstrated commitment to racial and economic justice. 
• Need for Space: All programs will demonstrate the need for additional cultural spaces in Boston due to the loss of space or inability to afford space. 
• Cultural Relevance: All programs should engage with the current social, cultural, or civic climate that uplifts Boston's arts and cultural sector. 
• Community Partnerships: All programs should center partnerships with community members, artists and key stakeholders toward a shared vision of uplifting Boston’s arts and culture sector. 
• Location: City Hall Plaza will highlight organizations and artists who are located in the Greater Boston Area, communities residing within the I-495 corridor in Massachusetts, and/or national partners who have had a longstanding relationship with Boston communities (reference map).

PMD Permit Requirement: All programs must first obtain approval of their event date from the City of Boston Property Management Department prior to applying for this Grant. Submit your date for approval here. 

Applicants must be:

• Individuals, nonprofit organizations, collectives or fiscally sponsored groups
• Residents of Greater Boston Area, communities residing east I-495 in Massachusetts, and/or national partners who have had a longstanding relationship with Boston communities (see map) 

Previous activations include:

• Festivals
• Weekly panel discussions
• Chess meetups
• Dance performances
• Theater showcases
• Summits, Informational Sessions 

This grant does not fund:

• Ticketed events
• Flag raisings
• Fundraisers
• Promotional concerts
• Individual artist celebrations (must be a community centered benefit) 

Accessibility

All events held at City Hall Plaza are required to be accessible for persons with disabilities under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The new plaza design integrates accessibility into the foundation of the space and for the first time, all primary entrances to City Hall are universally accessible. All applicants must consider physical and programmatic accessibility in their planning and budgeting process. Additional accommodations are available upon request to any person who requires alternately formatted materials, auxiliary aids, or other accommodations.

The funding is divided into four tiers to include a range of arts and cultural programs or events. The amount of funding allocated to each tier is informed by the budget and scale of the proposed idea. In some cases MOAC will make suggestions and offer a recommended amount based on our capacity to fund or sponsor programs. All programs and events funded by the CHP Engagement Grant will be sponsored by MOAC and must be free and open to the public. 

We welcome written questions until December 5, 2024 at 3 p.m. You can email questions to billydean.thomas@boston.gov with the subject “City Hall Plaza Engagement Grant Question." All questions and answers will be posted on this page following the written question deadline.

The deadline to apply is Thursday, January 9, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Please read the grant information before applying.

Apply

1. Applications will be reviewed by the CHP Engagement Grant Review committee.
2. Qualifying applicants will be invited for an interview. During the interview, we will discuss the following: vision, program budget, staffing & permitting 
3. After the interview, applicants will be notified of the status of their application and awarded amount.
4. If awarded the City Hall Plaza Engagement Grant, recipients will need to sign a grant agreement and obtain the necessary permits for their program and/or event. The Director of City Hall Plaza Engagement will be able to answer questions and guide you through the permitting process.

If there are major changes to your proposed programs once awarded, applicants must inform the Director of City Hall Plaza Engagement immediately and allow for at least 30 days to adjust accordingly.