Americans for the Arts is pleased to announce the addition of five new members to its board of directors: Torrie Allen, president and CEO of Arts Midwest; Christopher Cutler, CFA, founder and president of Manager Analysis Services, LLC; Marc D. Folk, president and CEO of The Arts Commission of Greater Toledo; Kristina Newman-Scott, executive director of The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at New York Public Radio; and Ravi S. Rajan, president of the California Institute of the Arts. These new members will start June 1 and join at a critical time to help further the transformative and mission-focused work of the board and organization in support of the arts and culture sector and field. 

Today, the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) joined more than 90 federal agencies in releasing an Equity Action Plan in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. The order outlines a whole-of-government mandate to advance equity for all Americans through a comprehensive approach to all government practices.

The American Planning Association recently announced the formation of a new Division focusing on the intersection of the arts and planning to provide a unique opportunity for artists and culture bearers to achieve more effective engagement between the two disciplines, as well as a stronger platform to influence the planning profession within the American Planning Association and beyond.

The public comment period aims to better understand how the Art in Architecture program can promote the goals articulated in a January 2021 Executive Order signed by President Biden, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government,” as well as promoting civic engagement and participation and democratic values, and advancing social ties and economic development at the community level.