For those who were unable to attend, or who would like to revisit the discussion, the session resources are now available.

Session Resources

• Presentation Slides from July 15, 2026

• Session Recording (Passcode: &Kq1?8?n)

The briefing introduced the publicly available transcript collection, demonstrated approaches to navigating the transcripts and accompanying AI-generated summaries, and reflected on recurring themes and ideas that emerged across conversations among nearly 350 artists, researchers, funders, advocates, administrators, and other cultural leaders who participated in the virtual convening earlier this year.

The co-organizers continue to encourage the field to engage with these materials as resources for reflection, analysis, and discussion. The transcripts are not intended to represent a single vision or consensus. Rather, they are offered as an open dataset to support inquiry into the future of the American arts and culture sector.

Readers are also invited to explore Arts Paths Forward: Potential Topics for Critical Reflection, a series of questions that emerged from the convening and subsequent analysis. These questions are intended to stimulate continued dialogue within organizations, communities, and professional networks.

Alan Brown

Arts Paths Forward: Potential Topics for Critical Reflection

•How is the US “arts and culture sector” organized? In what ways is it similar to, or different from, other sectors? What are the definitional problems, historically, and their implications for policy development and resourcing? Is the fragmented nature of the sector a liability or an asset with respect to collective action and advocacy…

Read more

2 months ago · 1 like · Alan Brown

As the initiative moves forward, Arts Paths Forward will continue to serve as a volunteer-led platform for sharing essays, analyses, resources, and examples from across the field. Contributions are welcome. Readers who have reflections, research, case studies, or related initiatives they would like to share are encouraged to get in touch at ArtsPathsForward@gmail.com.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this evolving public conversation. The organizers look forward to continuing to learn from – and with – the broader arts and culture community.

Organizers

Gary Steuer

Brett Egan

Alan Brown

Access the Transcripts Here

A follow-up, online briefing on key themes from the transcripts and discussion of next steps will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm ET.

Register HERE

As co-organizer Brett Egan laid out in his opening remarks, the convening sought to accelerate critical and creative thinking about the future of the US arts and culture sector at a moment of concern, opportunity, and heightened interest in collective action.

The effort - recognizing co-existing efforts to advance similar dialogues - did not attempt to develop a unified position, authority, or consensus. Rather, it embraced the complexities, diversity, and, at times, tensions in our field through dialogue on three vital questions:

1. Vision 2045 – What is your vision for a more fully realized, vibrant, equitable, and sustainable arts and culture sector in 2045? Why is this important?

2. Workflows – What strands of work (or “workflows”) would be required to realize the visions described for the arts and culture sector in 2045?

3. Leadership and Collaboration Structures – How might the work required to achieve a stronger arts and culture sector be organized and mobilized across the field?

Participants, who met via Zoom, were randomly assigned to one of 13 concurrent breakout groups for dialogue on each of the three questions. An additional group of 25 sector representatives gathered in person to help facilitate and reflect on the discourse.

None of the co-organizers, facilitators, or participants were compensated for their involvement. The dialogue sought to engage participants of diverse background and perspective known to be involved in similar discussions in other forums. Understanding its limitations, the convening did not profess to be “representative” of the field and understood its role as just one point in an ongoing national discourse on the future of the field.

The event was produced as a volunteer exercise, with no foundation or other financial support – both out of a sense of urgency and to reduce any conflicts that might arise from sponsorship or underwriting.

In essence, it was an experiment in crowdsourced future-casting, and it yielded a rich data set.

What Resources are Available?

After light editing (for anonymity and clarity), and a period of review by participants, transcripts (i.e., raw qualitative data) are now available and may be accessed from this Google Drive.

They are as follows:

National Discussion_Session 1.pdf (127 pages, single spaced). This document contains transcripts of 13 concurrent sessions on the topic of Vision 2045.

National Discussion_Session 2.pdf (152 pages, single spaced). This document contains transcripts of 13 concurrent sessions on the topic of Workflows.

National Discussion_Session 3.pdf (105 pages, single spaced). This document contains transcripts of 13 concurrent sessions on the topic of Leadership and Collaboration Structures.

How Might This Information Be Used?

The organizers submit this information to the field for critical examination, in hopes of supporting serious discourse about potential futures of the American arts and culture sector. (The dialogues acknowledge the problematic complexity of the term “sector”).

The organizers invite the public to identify themes, patterns, or tensions across the discussions; share interpretations, syntheses, and responses in their own forums; develop new frameworks, proposals, or lines of inquiry informed by the material; contest the theses of the convening; and otherwise connect these insights to related work in their community or field.

Given the volume of data, the organizers have provided links to preliminary AI outputs below, without bias for the prompts developed. The links below are provided simply to illustrate the power of the approach and encourage other similar, or divergent approaches to analysis:

An AI summary of National Discussion_Session 1

An AI summary of National Discussion_Session 2

An AI summary of National Discussion_Session 3

What Comes Next?

Briefing. The co-organizers will hold a follow-up, online meeting on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, from 2:00 – 3:30 pm ET. This session will feature a review and recap of the January virtual sessions, a discussion of key themes that emerged in the session transcripts, and dialogue on how to advance the work and broaden the scope of participation. They invite you to register HERE.

Substack. To continue this discourse, they have set up a Substack feed, where, in time, additional publications relevant to the discussion will be posted. The platform will remain active for one year to support the advancement of the dialogue. They welcome your thoughts in comments as well as contributions to the discourse.

Contact. The co-organizers welcome involvement, feedback, and collaboration. They can be reached at ArtsPathsForward@gmail.com.

Organizers

Brett Egan

Alan Brown

Gary Steuer