Candidates Talk Art In The South End

Would you like to see more public art in the city? What about an increased emphasis on arts education, more affordable housing dedicated to artists, or the appointment of an arts commissioner?

Those were just some of the ideas presented by candidates for the city's upcoming elections at a candidates forum in the South End on Monday night.

Three mayoral candidates and three at-large city council candidates stood in front of a small crowd of residents involved in the art community in Boston to answer questions about their support for the arts and the arts community in Boston.

Mayoral candidate Bill Walczak proposed creating an arts commissioner in Boston and using the resources of some of Boston's universities to host virtual art galleries in all of Boston's neighborhoods.

"The arts commissioner will work with all of the city's departments to make sure the arts are included in everything we're doing in Boston," he said. "We need to remind people about the arts on a daily basis."

Charlotte Golar-Richie, also running for mayor, spoke about the need to make sure the arts are part of a full education of Boston Public Schools, and said she wants to support getting more public art into all of Boston's neighborhoods.

"Some schools have art programs, but not all, so there are inequities in the system," she said. "I would love to have a city where all 57,000 students have access to an arts education as part of their total education."

Mike Ross, a mayoral candidate, spoke about the need for development to involve on-site affordable in Boston, some of which could be used to house artists, and the importance of residents coming together to plan changes in their neighborhoods.

"I would take affordable housing out of the BRA and move it into the Department of Neighborhood services," said Ross. "I would insist that developers build affordable housing on site, and if there's any buyouts it won't be an opaque world where you don't know where the money goes," he said, calling for more transparency in the process.

South End resident and city council at-large candidate Michelle Wu spoke about the need in the city to support free access to art for everyone in Boston at the city's large institutions and museums, and the need for arts education in schools.

"I think the arts underly so much of what city government can do and should be doing," Wu said. "Our schools need to focus much more on giving students a holistic experience."

Jeff Ross, also a South End resident running for an at-large seat, spoke about how he started out his time in Boston trying to make it as an artist, but wasn't able to secure affordable housing at the time and eventually turned to a different career.

"We need to create more places like [the Boston Center for the Arts] for artists to develop and flourish," he said. "Art is one of the ways we break down barriers in our neighborhoods because its something that no matter what background you have, that we can connect to each other through."

Which candidates responses do you connect with the most? Tell us in the comments.