June 12-14 Convention Will Bring Together National and Local Leaders to Address the Impact of the Arts on Our Nation’s Communities
June 12-14 Convention Will Bring Together National and Local Leaders to Address the Impact of the Arts on Our Nation’s Communities
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Americans for the Arts is pleased to be holding its 2015 Annual Convention in Chicago, a diverse city that embraces artists, creators, and innovators. The largest national gathering of arts leaders and their partners in creative business, education, and government, the convention is expected to draw upwards of 1,000 attendees.
A series of prominent speakers will explore the deep and diverse economic, civic, and social impacts that the arts generate for our nation’s neighborhoods and cities. More than 250 thought leaders will participate in 45 sessions, including keynotes by Theaster Gates, founder and creator of Rebuild Foundation and the Dorchester Projects; Tom Finkelpearl, Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs; Jane Chu, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts; Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts; and MacArthur Fellows award winners Hideo Mabuchi, Chair and Professor of Applied Physics at Stanford University, and Liz Lerman, choreographer and educator with Liz Lerman LLC.
The convention will also feature the programmatic kick off of the New Community Visions Initiative, which will bring together leaders from inside and outside the arts for structured discussions about how our communities will change over time, and what role artists, arts organizations, and arts agencies can play in helping to shape that future. As part of the initiative, Americans for the Arts is releasing a new book at the convention called Arts & America: Arts, Culture, and the Future of America’s Communities, a compilation of 10 essays commissioned by Americans for the Arts and authored by field leaders. Arts & America describes a view of the future which will be explored in detail by field leaders through a series of regional forums that Americans for the Arts will conduct from September 2015 through June 2016 in cities across the country.
Details on the 2015 Annual Convention can be found in the press release and on the convention website. Americans for the Arts looks forward to seeing you in Chicago!
