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Mayor Walsh Names An Arts And Culture Czar
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The city of Boston is getting an arts czar, a position that Mayor Walsh hopes will strengthen the arts sector and improve quality of life for the city. And, he's tapped a Chicagoan to fill the post.
Julie Burros will take the helm as chief of arts and culture in December, and she'll manage a staff of nine and a budget of $1.3 million. Burros is currently the director of cultural planning for the city of Chicago, a job she has been doing for more than 15 years.
She is credited with leading Chicago's 2012 "cultural plan," which aimed to make that city a cultural destination and actively engaged the community.
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Julie Burros, director of cultural planning for the city of Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. Burros will become Boston's arts czar in December. She tweets @JulieBurros.
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Radio Boston: 5 Things To Expect From Boston’s Future Arts Czar
- "There are a lot of institutions that have been frustrated with the road blocks that have been established over the past 20 years to do public art, to put on exhibitions. It’s just arcane, and it’s frustrating. The community is definitely looking for the administration and the policy director to be able to cut through that bureaucracy and let it go.”
ARTery: Walsh Names Chicagoan To Be Boston's Arts Czar
- "How much can Burros accomplish here with a city arts budget that ranks low among peer communities across the country? The budget for Office of Arts & Culture in Seattle, which has roughly the same population as Boston, was $7.4 million in 2012. In Boston, Burros will oversee a staff of nine housed within the Boston Arts Commission and the Boston Cultural Council, with a budget of $1.3 million."
The Boston Globe: Cultural Leader In Chicago To Be Boston Arts Chief
- "Creating a Cabinet-level arts post is a major shift for Boston. Under Mayor Thomas Menino, for the last decade the arts had been handled by the city’s Office of Arts, Tourism, and Special Events. Since Walsh took office, tourism and other functions and staff have been moved under the city’s economic development office."
This article was originally published on September 24, 2014.
This segment aired on September 24, 2014.