Arts appointment gets mixed reaction

Many in the arts community were taken by surprise recently when Mayor Thomas M. Menino appointed a longtime associate, Julie A. Burns, as the new director of the Office of Arts, Tourism, and Special Events.

Arts figures praised Burns's knowledge of city politics, her track record on managing big tasks, and her ability to raise funds. But others expressed concern that her background is in special events and not cultural programs.

The 37-year-old Charlestown resident, who is leaving her job as senior policy adviser for international law firm Holland & Knight LLP, was executive director of Boston 2004, a nonprofit corporation that attracted the Democratic National Convention to Boston and then organized the city's preparations for the event. She was Menino's deputy chief of staff from 1998 to 2003 and represented the city on such events as SailBoston.

Daniel R. Hunter, executive director of Massachusetts Advocates for the Arts, Sciences and Humanities, called Burns a worthy successor to Susan Hartnett, who resigned in December.

''She's got a tremendous amount of political experience, and she knows the city well and its politics," Hunter said. ''If she can continue to build what Susan started, which is to raise the profile of arts and culture in the city, I think she's going to be successful."

Jill Medvedow, director of the Institute of Contemporary Art, knows Burns through her work with Boston 2004 and as a Menino staffer. ''She has always seemed to have a really acute understanding of the role the arts and cultural organizations can play in the economic vitality in the city," Medvedow said.

Some cultural figures say that with Boston falling behind other cities in attracting tourists, it makes sense for the mayor to hire someone with Burns's skills.

''I would think the choice connotes the rising importance of cultural tourism in the city's economy," said Paul S. Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation. ''The mayor connected arts and culture with the economy when he created the position some time ago. The selection of Julie solidifies that understanding."

For her part, Burns said she's thrilled to be named to the position, and acknowledges that there will be a learning curve.

''It's going to take me a little time to get my arms around everything," she said. ''My strength is in planning of special events, tourism, and my knowledge of City Hall and working with the arts community will give me a good running start. Hopefully I'll be building a bridge between the business community and the arts community and working toward some common goals."

Menino says he's watched Burns grow in these capacities. ''She has the good management talents she needs in that department to bring people together," Menino said. ''With the arts being more prominent, we need a well-rounded individual to deal with various issues."

Burns, who begins the job on April 18, will oversee the large Office of Arts, Tourism, and Special Events, which was created in 2003 out of two former offices on special events and cultural affairs.

Members of the arts community had bandied about the names of Hunter and Tony McLean, former president of Broadway in Boston, as possible contenders for the job. And some continue to worry privately that Menino's choice signals a reduced commitment to the arts.

The mayor said that he's creating a new assistant director position within the arts, tourism, and special events office that will be solely dedicated to the arts. That person has not been named yet.

Burns's fund-raising ability is being looked upon as a double-edged sword. Several leaders of prominent arts organizations, who declined to be quoted for this article for fear of angering the mayor, expressed concern that Burns might end up competing against arts organizations in fund-raising for Menino's special events projects.

Others were distressed to find out about the appointment through the grapevine. The mayor's office intended to announce the appointment last week, but when a Globe reporter called the mayor after hearing about the decision on March 31 and reported it in the next day's paper, the office decided an official announcement was unnecessary.

''It is disconcerting to me personally, and to many of us in the arts, that there has been no official announcement and that the information has leaked out," said Stephen Marc Beaudoin, assistant director of the Fenway Alliance, a consortium of cultural and educational institutions in the Fenway. ''This has been the pattern of how that office has been managed since Esther Kaplan." Kaplan, the city's former cultural commissioner, resigned under pressure in 2004.

Still, Beaudoin said he wished the new cultural commissioner well. ''It's an uphill battle, and I salute Julie for taking that position on," he said.

Globe staff writer Geoff Edgers contributed to this article.