To improve Baltimore’s arts and entertainment sector, Mayor Brandon Scott says the city is taking cues from cultural hotbeds such as Atlanta, Chicago and Austin, Texas.

With the creation of the new Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture and Entertainment (MOACE), announced Monday at Scott’s State of the City address, Baltimore will centralize its efforts in arts, events, nightlife and film under one umbrella as those cities have done, according to a press release. Such efforts in Baltimore have previously been siloed across various agencies.

“We had over 28 million tourist visits to our city last year. We’re also home to incredible outdoor events — including Artscape, AFRAM, and Charm City Live,” Scott said in a statement. “With that said, I’m excited to announce a new Office of Arts, Culture, and Entertainment, which will organize these events and others — and serve as a resource for local artists and creators.”

The new office was established with the mayor’s announcement, and all transitions are “underway as we enter festival season,” Silas Woods III, Scott’s press secretary, said in an email.

MOACE is led by Tonya Miller Hall, a senior adviser for the mayor’s office, and Linzy Jackson III, an East Baltimore native with degrees from Coppin State University and Morgan State University who has produced AFRAM and Charm City Live in recent years. Jackson’s current role as director of external partnerships for the mayor’s office is being consolidated under the new office, Woods said.

Other plans for MOACE, per the press release, include:

• Boost operational efficiency and in-house capacity
• Support grassroots artists and neighborhood-based cultural groups
• Expand revenue through sponsorship and grant leverage
• Align Baltimore with national best practices in cultural governance
• Strengthen cultural infrastructure and creative workforce pathways

“Through strategic investment in festivals, film, public art, and nightlife, MOACE will serve as a catalyst for economic growth, creative innovation, and civic pride,” Hall said in a statement.

The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, the quasi-governmental agency, won’t be a part of MOACE and will instead continue its work under a new, separate contract, Woods said.

After Scott terminated the city’s contract with BOPA in January following a tumultuous period of “frustration” and upheaval, his office has continued to work with the organization’s remaining officials to manage popular events like Artscape and the Baltimore Farmers’ Market.

In February, Scott said the city’s relationship with BOPA is “in a much better position” than before.

Ultimately, MOACE will aim to create an economy in which “the arts are central to Baltimore’s long-term economic growth and identity,” per the press release.

“We’re making sure Baltimore’s artists, creatives, and cultural workers aren’t an afterthought — they’re part of the blueprint,” Jackson said in a statement.

This article has been updated to reflect clarified language from the mayor's office on MOACE’s leadership roles.