About the National Arts Policy Roundtable Programs

Each Roundtable focuses on a specific, timely topic and yields a series of recommendations on public policies and private sector practices. The Roundtable is set apart from others in the policy field as it centers artists’ voices alongside topic experts, corporate and foundation leaders, philanthropists, elected officials, business leaders, and funders as well as individuals from non-arts sectors who might not necessarily see the arts as key to solution building. These convenings are informed by engagement from many different sectors, generations, cultural demographics, and lived experiences. 

The National Arts Policy Roundtable programs took place from 2006-2019 at the Sundance Preserve in Provo, UT. The Aspen Seminar for Leadership in the Arts took place from 2008-2013 in partnership with the Aspen Institute. Other gatherings including resource seminars were held in locations across the country including Sun Valley, ID; New York, NY; and Washington, DC.

Putting the Arts to Work: 15 Years of National Arts Policy Roundtables 2006-2020

Thumbnail of sage green book cover with black and marigold textPutting the Arts to Work: 15 Years of National Arts Policy Roundtables 2006-2020 synthesizes the first 15 years of Americans for the Arts’ National Arts Policy Roundtable (NAPR) programs. The publication draws on thematic throughlines from all the convenings and centers the arts at the intersection of pressing policy, social issues, and ways to work towards positive change.   

The National Arts Policy Roundtable was founded in 2006 in partnership with Robert Redford, actor-producer, and founder of the Sundance Institute, and has since grown into one of the leading arts policy convenings in America. It was developed from a mutual understanding that artists should be at the table, not just in cultural conversations, but in creating policy and social structures across sectors. Each Roundtable focused on a specific, timely topic to yield recommendations on public policies and private sector practices.  

Unlike other convenings, The National Arts Policy Roundtable includes voices across generations, cultural demographics, and lived experiences. The participants collaboratively strategize ways to integrate the arts into problem-solving and mediating our country’s societal challenges.   

The 190-page full-color book is segmented into chapters focusing on the role of the arts in public and private sector philanthropy; building communities; innovation and change; arts education and the creative economy; well-being and health, and challenges facing our natural world. To purchase a copy, please visit the Americans for the Arts Online Bookstore.

National Arts Policy Roundtable Archive
History

The National Arts Policy Roundtable was launched in October 2006 in partnership with Robert Redford, founder of the Sundance Institute. For more information about the history of the program, read our 2022 publication Putting the Arts to Work: 15 Years of National Arts Policy Roundtables 2006-2020.

For questions about the National Arts Policy Roundtable, please contact Olivia Tarpley via email at [email protected].