This Monograph explores the future of performing arts facilities by documenting presentations and discussions that took place during the convening The Performing Arts Center of 2032, April 16–17, 2007. Organized by Webb Management Services, leaders were invited to the Nuyorican Poets Café in New York City to talk about the future of cultural facilities. They gathered to discuss what performing arts centers will look like in 2032—who will be attending, what shape programming will take, and how the communities they serve will have changed. While nobody truly knows what to expect 25 years from now, the convening indicated that cultural facility leaders in 2032 will require greater community-building skills, new leadership styles, and the ability to build different physical spaces.

Americans for the Arts’ Monograph series featured in-depth issue papers on topics that were of the greatest interest to our members and arts professionals at the time. They often still serve as excellent resources for best practices and historic reference for today’s issues. Monographs were produced from 1993–2010. Monographs from 2001-2010 are available for downloadable in PDF format our online store at a nominal fee for nonmembers but free to members. All monographs from 1993-2000 are available for free download via the National Arts Administration and Policy Publications Database.

While nobody truly knows what to expect 25 years from now, the convening indicated that cultural facility leaders in 2032 will require greater community-building skills, new leadership styles, and the ability to build different physical spaces.