The Barr Foundation aims to enhance the quality of education across New England, particularly in secondary education. It focuses on opening doors to rigorous, personalized education to enable young people to thrive. The foundation emphasizes transforming high schools to become more relevant through various learning models that cater to the diverse needs of students, preparing them for higher education, the workforce, and community engagement.
The Arts and Creativity Program by the Barr Foundation prioritizes elevating the arts to engage and inspire a dynamic, thriving Massachusetts. It recognizes arts and creativity as crucial for connecting people, understanding our environment, and imagining new futures amidst changing demographics and technological advancements. The program has three main strategies:
Advancing the field’s capacity to adapt, take risks, and engage audiences in new ways, focusing on artistic risk-taking, diversity in creative experiences, and presenting inspirational and relevant work.
Fostering opportunities to connect the arts with other disciplines and sectors. This includes supporting creative placemaking to integrate arts into community development and exploring the intersections of art, science, and technology.
Activating public support for the arts through investment in research, policy analysis, communications, and developing leaders and networks that elevate the creative sector's value in electoral and legislative processes.
The program seeks partners who demonstrate artistic excellence, bold approaches to challenges, curiosity about their field, and civic leadership.