We are an incubator of new work; a celebration of process; progress in motion. We believe in equitable access to resources, opportunities, and experiences. We serve Boston’s working artists; patrons; neighbors—living, learning, and thriving together.

We believe that culture is an essential catalyst for change. Therefore, it’s the responsibility of arts institutions to spur and support societal movement. We generate culture that moves people.

“Our BCA Residency gave us the opportunity to carve out art-making time in our individual, hectic lives. And by providing us with a space and the agency to make it ours, we were able to elevate our practice to a whole new level.”
—Adobo-Fish-Sauce, February 2019 Run of the Mills Resident Artists

Our community understands that creating is an art in itself; that there is beauty in the path and the process. Gifts of any amount support the artistic initiatives at BCA: including residency programs, performance series, and community events. BCA initiatives provide infrastructure for working artists in Boston at all stages of their careers, from an idea’s first spark to the realization of large-scale, public art projects — creating points of access, equity, and true community-making.

Our History

Opened to the public in 1970, Boston Center for the Arts has for five decades engaged creative community for public good. While the organization’s physical residence can be found in the historic South End, Boston Center for the Arts touches every part of Boston’s cultural ecosystem.

A leading force in the city’s cultural community, Boston Center for the Arts has supported thousands of individual artists, small organizations and performing arts companies, who add depth and dimension to the Boston arts ethos. Through residencies and programming, Boston Center for the Arts serves as an epicenter for an expanding cohort of artists working across all disciplines, and has catalyzed careers by providing fertile ground for experimentation and artistic risk-taking.

The artistic programs at BCA have evolved over the past 50 years, originally rooted in visual arts and theatre and expanding to encompass all forms and disciplines practiced by working artists across Boston. Through groundbreaking residency, exhibition, and performance programs, we have extended our reach and increased access points to BCA services for a wider number of artists in our communities.

Each year, we invite the world to experience provocative contemporary art exhibitions, award-winning theatre and dance performances, and arts experiences that defy categorization.