Backstage Access Project

A campaign to improve access for artists, technicians and designers to create at the Multicultural Arts Center

$ 0

100% Thank you!

Help the Multicultural Arts Center improve the accessibility, efficiency and usability of our theater and backstage areas through a renovation of our technical theatrical infrastructure and the creation of accessible, all-gender restrooms.

The Problem: Equity on Stage, But Not Behind It

While our programs uplift marginalized voices, our physical space, as it is currently configured, falls short of that vision. Artists, performers, and audiences with disabilities face major access barriers, including:

– No ADA-accessible dressing rooms or backstage restrooms.

– Inaccessible tech booth and control systems.

– Limited seating and navigation access for patrons with mobility needs.

– Outdated infrastructure that limits participation and comfort.

This undermines our mission and sends the wrong message to the communities we serve.

Our Campaign: Backstage Access

We’re launching a transformative $300,000+ capital campaign to renovate and modernize our historic space so that everyone (artists, staff, and audiences alike) can create and connect without barriers.

Renovations Will Include:

– ADA-Compliant, All-Gender Dressing Rooms and Single-User Restrooms.

– An On-Level Restroom for Performers

– New Networked Lighting, Sound, and Video Control Systems.

– Accessible Pathways and Layout Upgrades.

These changes will reflect the MAC’s values of radical inclusion, artistic excellence, and cultural equity.

Come visit the new facility!

Thanks to:

– A matching grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council’s Cultural Facilities Fund.

– Investment from the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority.

– In-kind support from local architects and access consultants.

– And your help, we have fully funded this project!

Why It Matters

This project isn’t just about upgrading our facilities; it’s about artistic justice. It’s about ensuring that disabled, queer, BIPOC, and working-class artists can fully access every part of the creative process: from rehearsal to performance to applause. It’s about making sure our spaces match our values.

Testimonials of Support

Hear from artists and collaborators why they champion this project. Thank you to all of you who have shared your words of support!

We support the Multicultural Arts Center for this project because of their focus on improving the accessibility of their space. The additions and improvements proposed will open opportunities for more disabled artists and performers to utilize the space safely…

Updates to their equipment will enable remote operations of the technical systems, opening up accessible and strategic plans on running tech for productions. These updates will also improve accessibility services and aids such as audio descriptions, captioning, and visual aids and displays.

Andrew CHOE

ABILITIES DANCE BOSTON

Please trust me when I say, we need more theaters, studios, and venues where disabled artists can teach, rehearse, and perform in our region, nationally, and internationally. Any time that a theater in our commonwealth wishes to invest in making their backstage, tech booth, or administrative offices more accessible to people with a broad spectrum of disabilities, I beg you to please fund them.

karen Krolak

Monkeyhouse Dance

The Multicultural Arts Center reflects the spirit of [our] mission… The project they are proposing meets a clear need…In order for us to continue to partner with the Multicultural Arts Center into the future, these renovations to their technical infrastructure and studios are critical. Inclusive access to professional performing arts is a mutual goal of ours and we are thrilled to offer support to Multicultural Arts Center.

ISRAEL GUTIERREZ

Celebrity Series

The Multicultural Arts Center (MAC) is a critical player in the Cambridge arts ecosystem…

The MAC’s incredible physical facility is run by a forward-thinking team that genuinely cares about the arts community it serves, and seeks to lift up the groups that perform on its stage…

The MAC’s accessibility project will take their services to the next level by enabling all artists, regardless of physical ability, to make full use of the building’s resources… [and] will more fully realize the MAC’s mission… further solidifying the MAC’s role as a hub for the arts in Cambridge. The facility improvements necessary for this project will be a gift for the people of Massachusetts that serves its residents for many years to come.

Oliver Caplan

Juventas New Music Ensemble

At Urbanity, not only do we work with exceptional dancers and technical staff across abilities, but we also are always exploring more innovative ways to create interdisciplinary dance. Creating a Cat6 network between back-stage rooms and the stage would allow us new tools to explore projection mapping and video feeds that we are currently unable to fully utilize. In addition, the back-stage areas are not currently accessible to our design and technical teams, which limits who can participate in our crew.