Arts and Cultural District in Planning for Downtown Beverly

Community members are invited an informational meeting to hear about planning for a new downtown Arts and Cultural District, hosted by Montserrat College of Art, Beverly Main Streets and the City of Beverly. 

The meeting will be held Wednesday, Nov. 14 from 5-6:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church. 

The Arts and Cultural District is being funded with the help of a $75,000 matching grant, awarded this summer from the National Endowment for the Arts. 

The community meeting will provide examples of other successful arts and culture districts and allow opportunity for public input on the process. The collaboration has hired Community Partners Consultants to assist with the planning project. The firm has helped to create cultural districts in other major cities across the country and will discuss their approach and seek input.

The grant was received jointly by the college, city and Beverly Main Streets and will result in a master plan to create a cultural district in Beverly’s downtown. Following that, the collaboration will need to seek funding to implement any plans.

Included in the planning will be a national call for public art proposals to give identity and enhance the cultural district.

"What do you want to see? Have suggestions for cool spaces to experience art?  Ideas to collaborate with the public schools? We'd love to hear from you!" Beverly Main Streets Executive Director Gin Wallace wrote in their newsletter.