Much of the talk around economic development here in Newton tends to focus on either major development projects or street-front retail. Some of that is for good reason: We need economic growth, and the easiest action is to attract new and bigger businesses.

But the city does offer another growth path that is already happening and just needs the right massaging: arts and culture.

Newton has a vibrant arts scene, one that Mayor Marc Laredo is working to expand, as evidenced by the creation of a new department dedicated to Arts and Culture, headed by Meryl Kessler. Kessler is a longtime advocate for the arts locally and is behind many initiatives around the city, including the Halloween storefront painting competition.

Meryl Kessler will lead the new City of Newton Arts and Culture Department. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Academics have seen the need for this kind of work. In 2025, University College London Economics Professor Mariana Mazzucato published The Public Value of Arts and Culture: Investing in Arts and Culture to Reimagine Economic Growth in the 21st Century, in which she said, “Arts and culture are fundamental to shaping the direction of this intervention and defining the goals of economic growth. They are not a luxury—they are an essential part of a democratic, flourishing economy.”

Closer to home, a 2019 Newton Community Pride study found that the arts and culture contributed more than $19 million to the local economy. (Newton Community Pride is now Spark Newton, and the report itself is no longer available online.) In 2023, the arts had a $29.7 billion economic impact statewide.

The Massachusetts Cultural Council is now asking the state for even more money to support the arts, with a 5 percent budget increase to help support its grant programs. The state even tried a Cultural District program to open funding opportunities to eligible areas. That program is currently on hold for new applicants, but is likely to reopen later in 2026.  

All this feeds the related tourism industry. Massachusetts attracted 52.6 million tourists who spent $2.3 billion in 2024, according to the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism; more than half of that was spent in the Greater Boston area.

Last year, the Economic Development Commission examined how to use culture to grow our local economy. Commissioner Marcela Merino embraced this question with passion and led a group that found three broad targets for growth:

• Define & Promote Newton’s Cultural Identity — This ranged from the tactical, like building a cultural map, which the city just launched, to longer-term projects like positioning Newton as a cultural and creative hub, then promoting that identity broadly.
• Activate Public Spaces to Drive Economic Activity — We have some great outdoor spaces, from the temporary Newton Centre Plaza to our parks and even the village centers themselves. We already host some events and performances, but how do we turn up the volume of those? Where do we look to strategically place new venues that can drive foot traffic?
• Build Sustainable Business and Cultural Partnerships — The big idea emerging from this is to identify a village center business advocate. That is, finding a local business owner who can act as a leader and help bring everyone together. Then we’ll have a much easier time working with businesses on arts activities to ensure they are designed to benefit everyone.

The point here isn’t just to do things, but to do them with purpose. Details matter. In Newton Centre, some restaurants have complained that major events, such as the Harvest Festival and Green Expo in the fall, bring in food vendors who compete directly with them, costing them sales. A question for the city is: How do we use that foot traffic to introduce new people to existing stores while also bringing the vibrancy that a street food scene can offer to an outdoor event?

Nathaniel T. Allen Center, one of Newton’s cultural attractions. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

The city also needs to find ways to tap into the state’s overall travel and tourism industry. Every April Newton hosts one of the biggest sporting events of the region, but tying the visitors who cheer along the Marathon route to our local vendors is not perfectly direct. How do we make that tie stronger?  And beyond Marathon Monday, how do we engage the runners who use the Carriage Lane all year long? How do we get them back to dine in our restaurants and shop in our stores when they’re not wearing running gear? 

Newton is rich with cultural activities; we just need to help the rest of the world discover what we have to offer.

Chuck Tanowitz is a Newton resident who has been involved in local economic development for more than a decade. He can be reached at chucktanowitz@gmail.com.