We are pleased to present the report from the 2009 proceedings of the National Arts Policy Roundtable on The Role of the Arts in Strengthening and Inspiring the 21st Century Global Community.

Americans for the Arts in partnership with the Sundance Preserve launched the first National Arts Policy Roundtable in October 2006. Each year the Roundtable brings together high level public and private sector leaders in dialogue on issues critical to advancing American culture and society. Since its founding, nearly 100 leaders have convened at Sundance to recommend the policies, practices, and research necessary to move from thought to action on such critical issues as the future of private sector funding for the arts, the role of the arts in building a creative 21st century workforce, and the arts and civic engagement.

This year’s National Arts Policy Roundtable took place on September 24 – 26, 2009, at the Redford Center at the Sundance Preserve and focused on the role of the arts in building strong, vibrant, and connected global communities. Our goal was to identify actionable strategies that will help bring us closer to realizing deeper and more positive global relationships, in and through the arts.

We chose this topic because we believe in the unique ability of the arts to open new dialogues—often in places where common ground has been hard to find. We believe the voice of the artist can stimulate ideas and create new opportunities for expression that lead to a deeper understanding of our global connectivity. We believe this because we have seen the transformative power of the arts firsthand. [Message from Robert Redford and Robert L. Lynch]

This year’s National Arts Policy Roundtable took place on September 24 – 26, 2009, at the Redford Center at the Sundance Preserve and focused on the role of the arts in building strong, vibrant, and connected global communities. Our goal was to identify actionable strategies that will help bring us closer to realizing deeper and more positive global relationships, in and through the arts.