Americans for the Arts President and CEO Robert L. Lynch offered this statement in response to today's Senate’s approval of Mary Anne Carter to chair the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a four-year term: 

 

“I am very pleased that Mary Anne Carter has been approved by the full Senate on a bipartisan basis (confirmed by voice vote) to serve as chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. Since arriving at the agency and then serving as Acting Chairman, she has pushed to make the NEA more accessible to the American people, directing an expansion of the Blue Star Museums program and the Creative Forces arts therapy program for active military, veterans, and their families at 11 clinical sites and one telehealth center across the country. She has also boosted many of the agency’s national initiatives, including Shakespeare in American Communities; NEA Big Read, Poetry Out Loud, the Jazz Masters; and National Heritage Fellowships.

 

“From inspiring thousands of arts administrators and supporters in cities and states across America, to representing the United States abroad in demonstrating the importance of collaboration and communication across cultures at the International Federation of Arts Council and Cultural Agencies conference in Kuala Lumpur, Mary Anne understands the inherent value of the arts, the importance of using the arts to help enhance quality of life, and the transformative power it has to individuals as well as to places.

 

“Americans for the Arts is grateful to have a partner who shares our steadfast commitment to providing access to the arts for all Americans, and we look forward to working with Mary Anne in the coming years.” 

 

Carter will serve a term of four years. She has served as acting chairman of the NEA since June 2018, after serving 18 months as the agency’s senior deputy chairman. She was officially nominated to a four-year term as chairman in November 2018. Carter is the former chief policy adviser to former Florida Governor Rick Scott. For more commentary and information about the arts and arts funding, visit the Americans for the Arts Arts Mobilization Center.