Project

Commission on the Arts

Overview

The Commission draws on the expertise of its members who are artists, scholars, activists, and leaders, as well as the input of people across the country who participated in listening sessions about the arts in American life. The Commission dedicated itself to recognizing and supporting the essential role of the arts and developed reports with policy recommendations and an online art compilation.

The Commission’s research is focused on promoting the arts and assuring equitable access to them in education and the workplace.

  • The Commission’s focus on arts education and its impact on individuals and communities resulted in a new report – Art for Life’s Sake: The Case for Arts Education – issued in September 2021.
  • The Commission asked “How can we better recognize the value of artists in our national policy in order to enable the essential work they do?” The report, Art is Work: Policies to Support Creative Workers, issued in October 2021 – is their answer.
  • Alongside conducting research and developing recommendations, the Commission developed an online multimedia gallery designed to meet the public where, and whenever, they want to encounter art. All are welcome at Mixtape.

The Commission’s efforts are intended to serve as a resource for artists and their advocates, city and regional governments, departments of arts and culture, school administrators, teachers, parents, students—anybody who seeks to answer questions about the value of arts in American life.

People

People

Commission Members

Terence O. Blanchard

Independent
Musician; Composer; Professor and the Kenny Burrell Chair in Jazz Studies
Academy Member

Louise Henry Bryson

Public Media Group of Southern California
Chair Emerita, Board of Trustees
Academy Member

James Cuno

J. Paul Getty Trust
President and CEO
Academy Member

Oskar Eustis

The Public Theater
Artistic Director
Academy Member

Brian Kisida

Truman School of Public Affairs at University of Missouri

Tania León

Brooklyn College
Composer; Claire and Leonard Tow Distinguished Professor of Music
Academy Member

Jacqueline Stewart

University of Chicago
Professor of Cinema and Media Studies
Academy Member

Steven Tepper

Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University

Jay Jie Xu

Asian Art Museum of San Francisco
Director
Academy Member

Kevin Young

National Museum of African American History and Culture
Poet; Director
Academy Member
Staff
Publications

Publications

News & Updates

News & Updates

Events

Events