Commonwealth Places Launches Crowdfunding Campaign for Chinatown Arts Center in Boston
November 7, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Meggie Quackenbush, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2011 & 857-208-2777 (cell)
mquackenbush@massdevelopment.com
Jonathan Berk, Patronicity, 617-750-6008
jonathan@Patronicity.com
Carmen Chan, Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, 617-603-2538
carmen.chan@bcnc.net
MassDevelopment and the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center announced today a new campaign through the civic crowdfunding platform Patronicity and the Commonwealth Places initiative. The campaign will support development of a 5,000-square-foot art space called One Chinatown Arts Center (1CAC) on the ground floor of the One Greenway residential complex at 99 Kneeland Street in Boston. 1CAC will offer visitors and community members a place to create and enjoy art, and will also build upon neighborhood cultural assets to maintain a sense of place in the Chinatown neighborhood.
If the campaign reaches its crowdfunding goal of $50,000 by January 6, 2017, at midnight, the project will win a matching grant with funds from MassDevelopment’s Commonwealth Places program. To read more about the project and to donate, click here.
“MassDevelopment is pleased to support this project in one of Boston’s most culturally rich and vibrant neighborhoods,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones. “One Chinatown Arts Center will provide Boston’s residents and visitors with a new space to learn about and cultivate the robust historical and cultural resources present in the neighborhood.”
As the neighborhood’s first community-driven arts center, 1CAC will promote the community’s cultural identity, support its artists, provide low-income families with access to cultural resources, and enrich Boston’s arts sector. The center will feature a studio theater, gallery, and classrooms, and will leverage Chinatown’s artistic and creative resources to support an at-risk community.
“I want people from all over the city to experience Chinatown in a new way because of 1CAC,” said Giles Li, Executive Director of Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center. “1CAC will help visitors understand what it’s like to be a part of Chinatown and our hope is that they will spread that understanding to the rest of the city.”
Commonwealth Places is a collaborative initiative from MassDevelopment and Patronicity that leverages public support for placemaking projects through crowdfunding and a matching grant from MassDevelopment. The program engages residents in the development of strategic projects in their towns and cities. Communities, nonprofits and other entities can learn more and apply at www.massdevelopment.com/commonwealthplaces.
MassDevelopment, the state’s finance and development agency, works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2016, MassDevelopment financed or managed 352 projects generating investment of more than $4 billion in the Massachusetts economy. These projects are projected to create about 8,200 jobs and build or rehabilitate about 4,200 residential units.
