WASHINGTON, DC—Americans for the Arts, the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America, will hold its annual convention in Chicago from June 12–14, 2015. It is the largest national gathering of arts leaders and their partners in creative business, education, and government, and 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. 

 

“We are thrilled that the convention will take place in Chicago, an innovative and diverse city that embraces artists, innovators, and creators,” said Lynch. “Ensuring Americans understand that the arts help build healthy communities has been at the core of Americans for the Arts’ work for its entire 55-year history. Chicago offers a perfect backdrop for cultural leaders from across the country to come together to learn from their peers about how to more effectively harness the power of the arts and artists to advance community development.” 

 

“Americans for the Arts is our nation’s premier arts advocacy organization,” said Michelle T. Boone, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. “Hosting this convening of arts professionals and artists in Chicago not only showcases our city’s cultural vibrancy, but also reinforces the dynamic and growing importance of our creative sector to the city as a whole.”

 

Organized around five core themes, the convention will explore power and empowerment of the individual and the greater community through the arts; how to broaden access and ensure that the arts serve and represent all communities; how arts organizations can build capacity and resiliency; and how to make the case for investment in the arts. Three preconferences will focus on arts leadership, cultural equity, and public art and placemaking; two workshop intensives will focus on arts education and data-based advocacy. 

 

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—from community development professionals and government officials, to funders, agency professionals, arts administrators, and artists—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 launch of the New Community Visions 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. The New Community Visions Initiative, supported in part by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, is part of Transforming America’s Communities Through the Arts, a $10.5 million suite of programs that will generate national dialogue and engage key stakeholders over the next three years.

 

Performances by artists and artist groups from Chicago will be featured throughout the convention. Attendees will also have the opportunity to experience Chicago’s diverse arts landscape through ARTventure tours. More information about these offsite, educational tours through Chicago’s neighborhoods can be found on the ARTventure Tours page.  

 

Americans for the Arts extends its gratitude to Mayor Rahm Emanuel and its local host, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The 2015 Americans for the Arts Annual Convention is generously supported in part by American Express, The Joyce Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Chicago Community Trust, Choose Chicago, Ovation, the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, and the Irving Harris Foundation. 

 

Members of the media should contact Inga Vitols ([email protected], 202-371-2830) to register to attend. 

 

Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America. With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of more than 50 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts. Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.