History of ABC/NY

Looking Back...

The Arts & Business Council was created in 1965 by a group of business leaders from the New York Board of Trade, with the purpose of creating closer ties between business and the arts. Arts membership was started in 1970, and the organization was incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 1973.

The Business Volunteers for the Arts program was launched in 1975 and, with assistance from the Rockefeller Foundation, replicated across the country.

Through the 1980s and 1990s, the Arts & Business Council expanded its affiliation with like organizations in other cities and started the National Arts Marketing Project.

In 2005, the Arts & Business Council merged with the national organization Americans for the Arts; national affiliates are now coordinated by the Private Sector Initiatives department of Americans for the Arts.

Together, arts and business strengthen the leadership—staff and volunteer—of New York’s cultural treasures of every discipline and every size.

Together, arts and business excite and energize existing work forces and can guide young people to join in fulfilling careers.

Together, arts and business build capacity and effect New York’s economic growth.

Scroll through highlights of Arts & Business Council history from 1965-2015.

Encore Awards

The Encore Awards, presented by the Arts & Business Council of New York, celebrated innovative collaboration, creative volunteerism, and excellence in arts management. Held annually through 2011, this event brought together arts organizations from every arts discipline with members of the business community who support the arts through their time, talent, and/or treasure. The Arts & Business Council of New York continues to recognize and celebrate arts-business partnerships in a variety of ways.

View details of previous honorees by year:

View details of previous honorees by category:

Board of Directors

Chair - Melanie Childress Carucci
Global Business Director, Thomson Reuters

Vice Chair - Alessandra DiGiusto
Head of CSR Americas and Executive Director of Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation

Treasurer - Kevin Hogan
Director of Planning & Assessment, Asia Society

Secretary - Frederica Wald
Chief Marketing Officer & VP University Relations, Pace University

Madison Bedard

Charity Boutte'
Multicultural Marketing Director, Aetna

Leah Fischman
Principal, LF Strategic Advisors

John Haworth
Director Emeritus, George Gustav Heye Center (National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution)

Jackson Jeyanayagam
Chief Marketing Officer, Boxed

Justin Kerr
President, Imprint Projects

Regan Lynn Larroque
Principal, Regan Lynn Larroque Consulting

Robert L. Lynch
President & CEO, Americans for the Arts

Alton Murray
Public Affairs Manager - Strategic Partnerships, Con Edison

DeVon Prioleau
Associate Director, Turner & Townsend

Janet Zagorin
Client Services Officer, Sidley Austin LLP