about americans for the arts

Americans for the Arts is the nation's leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts in America. With 45 years of service, we are dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.

With offices in Washington, DC, and New York City, and more than 5,000 organizational and individual members and stakeholders across the country, we are focused on three primary goals:

1. Foster an environment in which the arts can thrive and contribute to the creation of more livable communities.
2. Generate more public- and private-sector resources for the arts and arts education.
3. Build individual appreciation of the value of the arts.

To achieve our goals, we partner with local, state, and national arts organizations; government agencies; business leaders; individual philanthropists; educators; and funders throughout the country. We provide extensive arts industry research, and information and professional development opportunities for community arts leaders via specialized programs and services, including a content-rich website and an annual national convention.

Local arts agencies throughout the United States comprise our core constituency. A variety of unique stakeholder groups with particular interests like public art, united arts fundraising, rural and small communities, state arts agencies, and emerging arts leaders are also supported. Through national visibility and local outreach, we strive to motivate and mobilize opinion leaders and decision-makers who can make the arts thrive in America.

Americans for the Arts produces annual events that heighten national visibility for the arts, including Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, DC; the Nancy Hanks Lecture on Arts and Public Policy; the National Arts Awards; and the Public Leadership in the Arts Awards (in cooperation with the U.S. Conference of Mayors). Local arts organizations in communities throughout the country benefit from special national projects such as the Animating Democracy project, the YouthARTS Resource Initiative, and the National Arts Education Public Advertising Campaign with the Ad Council.

Americans for the Arts was created in 1996 as a result of the merger between the National Assembly of Local Arts Agencies (NALAA) and the American Council for the Arts (ACA)—one of a small number of successful unions between two national nonprofit groups. Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch has led our organization since the merger, growing the Americans for the Arts annual budget from $2.7 million in 1996 to $9 million in 2003.