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Endeavoring to strengthen the creative industry by more efficiently linking artists in New England with the presenting organizations that hire them to provide cultural programming in their communities, the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), in partnership with the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the state arts agencies of Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Maine, and Vermont will launch MatchBook.org this fall.

MatchBook.org is a free directory of performing artists, venues, and presenting organizations. This “online cultural marketplace” connects artists with communities by matching New England’s performing artists with the theaters, community centers, libraries, schools, galleries, clubs, and coffeehouses that hire—or book—them to perform. 

The site will be a transaction-oriented, web-based, online booking service that helps artists to market their work and interact directly with a wider variety of presenting organizations, while providing presenters with a comprehensive management tool to locate, schedule, promote, and track their artist bookings. 

Both artists and presenters will have access to technical assistance such as how to document their work, find funding sources, or get tips on writing a contract. NEFA's New England States Touring Roster of over 900 performing artists will be included in MatchBook.org’s searchable database. The site will also be available to any New England-based performing artist who chooses to register and create a profile.

“A primary goal of MatchBook.org is to help New England’s performing artists market themselves more broadly, and get more work.”  Said Adrienne Petrillo, program manager at NEFA., “We’ll be advertising the site to all types of people who hire artists: schools, libraries, clubs, event planners, and more. In doing so, we hope to help the talented performing artists from this region get the broad exposure they deserve!” 

Additionally, managers of performance spaces can list their facility, its features, and rental fees in MatchBook.org’s venue directory. The site also provides an event calendar of professional development opportunities, like conferences and workshops in the region and a ‘classifieds’ section which will serve as an open forum for the arts community to post notices ranging from ‘rehearsal space for rent’ to ‘band seeks lead guitarist.’  

The site was made possible with a Technology Opportunities Program grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce and funding from the Boston Foundation. 

The project is being constructed in tandem with NEFA’s New England Cultural Database, an online data warehouse of financial, demographic, contact, and other information related to businesses, organizations, and individuals within New England’s creative economy. The two sites will be linked entities, each enhancing the other through shared data sources and tools.

NEFA was created in 1975 as one of six regional arts agencies nationwide, funded primarily through the National Endowment for the Arts and New England state arts agencies. Today's NEFA has evolved considerably from the original regional model, and now operates with an annual budget of $5 million to develop and manage arts initiatives on local, regional, national, and international levels. Through extensive funding, advocacy, and networking efforts, NEFA promotes the creation and distribution of the full range of artistic expression. NEFA functions as a grantmaker, program initiator, regional laboratory, project coordinator, developer of resources, and builder of creative partnerships among artists, arts organizations, and funders. Each program and project that is brought to life at NEFA is created with the underlying goal of building a stronger and more dynamic infrastructure for the arts. NEFA celebrates New England and its characteristic values while playing a national role by distributing model programs, supporting international cultural exchange, and advocating access to the arts for everyone.