Deerfield, Mass. (May 2, 2016)---
On Friday, May 13, Historic Deerfield will honor Massachusetts Cultural Council Executive Director Anita Walker with the museum's President's Award. This award is presented to the individual whose outstanding support and consistent collaboration has helped Historic Deerfield fulfill its mission. In addition, the museum chose Walker to recognize her statewide advocacy for arts and cultural organizations.
The award will be presented at the museum's annual awards dinner.
"Anita Walker has been an aggressive and effective advocate for arts and cultural organizations in the Commonwealth for nearly a decade," said Philip Zea, Historic Deerfield's President. "She has worked closely with legislative leaders to increase funding and publicize the major impact that these organizations hold on tourism and the state's economy at large. Her contribution has been profound."
Ms. Walker has served as Executive Director of the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) since April 2007. She is the Commonwealth's highest ranking cultural official, overseeing a range of grant programs, services, and advocacy for the arts, humanities, and sciences in communities across Massachusetts.
Walker has raised the visibility of the nonprofit creative sector as a driving force for growth and prosperity in Massachusetts. She led advocacy for the Massachusetts Cultural Facilities Fund (CFF), which has invested $82 million in arts and cultural building projects statewide over eight years. CFF grants leverage more than $1.9 billion in spending on cultural building projects, providing more than 19,000 jobs, restoring many important historic structures, and attracting more than 18 million cultural tourists to Massachusetts annually.
Walker also launched MCC's Cultural Districts Initiative to help cities and towns attract new visitors and commerce through new arts and cultural activity. And she led the creation of a new Cultural Investment Portfolio for more than 400 outstanding nonprofit arts, humanities, and science organizations.
Under Walker's leadership, the agency has significantly increased funding for arts and culture programming and building renovations, dramatically simplified the state's support system for the nonprofit cultural sector, and put new emphasis on creative youth development. As part of that effort, MCC launched SerHacer (To be, To make), a new program to support intensive, aspirational, ensemble music, making it a vehicle for education and social change.
Walker also led development of MCC's new UP Initiative to support organizations that promote increased accessibility through the power of inclusive design to grow audiences and enhance cultural experiences for all, and embrace inclusivity as core to their mission. The intent is to generate transformational experiences for participants that will not only build capacity but fuel insight and action. Historic Deerfield was among the first participants in this program.
Before coming to Massachusetts, Walker was director of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs for seven years, serving as executive director of the Iowa Arts Council, administrator of the State Historical Society, and the state historic preservation officer. Walker is a California native and a graduate of The University of Arizona. She lives in Beverly.
About Historic Deerfield, Inc.
Historic Deerfield, Inc., is dedicated to the heritage and preservation of Deerfield, Massachusetts, and the Connecticut River Valley. Its museums and programs provide today's audiences with experiences that create an understanding and appreciation of New England's historic villages and countryside.
###
