ARTSblog

Trying to explain to some family and friends about what I do in the arts is a challenge.  In my last role at the Arizona Commission on the Arts I had friends say, “Oh, I have driven past your building. What do you do in there, paint?” I finally had to create a statement and definition about my work that would help convey what I did at the state arts agency. When I accepted my current position at Americans for the Arts the question shifted to “what is a local arts agency?” Surprisingly, I have even been asked by both artists and other arts managers.

So, what is a local arts agency?

Technically, a local arts agency (LAA) is a private community organization or local government agency that supports cultural organizations, provides services to artists or arts organizations, and/or presents arts programming to the public. LAAs endeavor to make the arts part of the daily fabric of community living. Each LAA is unique to the community that it serves and each change as fast as its community changes. However, all seek to serve the diverse art forms in their community and make them accessible to every community member.

Simply put, an LAA is a nonprofit or government entity that is created to meet the cultural needs of a community and to foster an environment in which artists and arts organizations can flourish.

LAAs can serve populations of all sizes, and are located in urban, rural, and suburban areas. They can focus on one activity or dozens of activities, based on the needs and desires of the community. LAAs can represent a single jurisdiction, such as a city, town, or county, or multiple jurisdictions, such as a metropolitan or tri-state area. Or, they may represent smaller areas, such as a neighborhood within a city or county.

LAAs have been distinguished by their status as public or private bodies. They may be either a public entity within a larger government structure or they may be a private nonprofit organization.  Traditionally, LAAs have been arts councils, arts commissions, or offices of cultural affairs within city or county government, with programming revolving around public art, arts education, presenting and touring, grantmaking, and acts as a central clearinghouse for the cultural scene of a community.

So there you have it, the technical answer on what a local arts agency is to us going into 2010.

However, as the field begins to think of what the next 50 years of the arts in America looks like, we could begin to think of what the future holds for LAAs.

What is the definition of a local arts agency to you now? And, what will it be in the future? Will it stay the same? Need to evolve?

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