Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts Merges with the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston.

We have some very exciting news. This summer, the Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston and Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts, Inc. joined forces to become a single, unified organization offering a combined menu of high quality legal and business-oriented programming. The merger is official as of August 1, 2008. Our newly combined organization will operate under the name Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston with VLA being maintained as the name for our organization’s legal services component.

We’ve been contemplating this union for more than two years. Earlier this summer, the VLA’s and A&BC/Boston’s boards voted in favor of the merger and have come together with dedicated support for our success. As one organization, we will be able to work together to build an even stronger bridge between the arts and the business and legal communities. We have already begun expanding our services and developing new programming!

“Our top priority is to better serve our constituents. This merger ensures sustainability for the future of two organizations that provide great value to the Greater Boston community. This is not a financial or money-saving strategy. We are coming together because we can best fulfill our mission as one, solidified organization.”
A&BC/Boston Executive Director Celeste Wilson

“The arts are so vital to our communities, the state’s economy and to our overall quality of life. This merger allows us to better leverage the incredible support and resources of the legal and business communities with whom we work and serve for the cultural and artistic communities.”
VLA Executive Director James Grace

Although our union is now official, this isn’t the first time that A&BC/Boston and the VLA have joined forces. We tested the waters in 2005 with the launch of Artist’s Professional Toolbox, a comprehensive business and legal education program for visual artists. We collaborated to design, fund, and implement the program, which continues to be extremely successful.

A&BC/Boston Executive Director Celeste Wilson and VLA Executive Director James Grace will both be staying on as Co-Executive Directors of the new Arts & Business Council of Greater Boston. Together, they bring complementary skills and experience to the table. And together, Celeste and James look forward to growing and strengthening this organization to better serve the arts, legal, and business communities. .