What is a Local Arts Agency

The nation’s 4,500 Local Arts Agencies (LAAs) promote, support, and develop the arts at the local level ensuring a vital presence for the arts throughout America’s communities. LAAs are diverse in their makeup—they have many different names and embrace a spectrum of artistic disciplines. But each LAA, in its own way, works to sustain the health and vitality of the arts and artists locally, while also striving to make the arts accessible to all members of a community. Each LAA in America is unique to the community that it serves and each evolves within its community—no two LAAs are exactly alike in name, programming or even mission. Below is information to help you learn more about LAAs so that you can identify the LAAs that serve your community.

To learn more about the work of Local Arts Agencies please see the Local Arts Agency Census released  in May 2016.

An LAA By Any Other Name is Still an LAA—Common names of LAAs include:

  • Arts Council (or Arts & _________ Council)
  • Arts commission, cultural commission, or heritage commission
  • Cultural affairs department • Cultural alliance
  • Arts Center
  • Business Council for the Arts
  • Arts service organization
  • United Arts Fund
  • Or any creative name that suggest the Work they do like ArtsWave, 4Culture, and Allied Arts

Where Might an LAA Operate?

  • Within a local public/governmental agency
  • As a private organization
  • As a nonprofit organization
  • As for-profit organization
  • A hybrid nonprofit/for-profit organization or partnership

Why Are LAAs Important to a Communities Health and Vitality?

  • LAAs build healthy, vibrant and equitable communities
  • LAAs enable diverse forms of arts and culture to thrive
  • LAAs help ensure broad accessibility and public engagement with the arts culturally, socially, educationally, and economically
  • LAAs impact the economic health and growth of a community through vibrant arts programming
  • LAAs support and advance arts and culture at the local level and bring communities together
  • LAAs connect elected official and business leaders to the power of arts in the community

How do LAAs Impact the Community through the Arts?

  • Make grants to your local arts
    community community theater or symphony, arts festivals, individual artists
  • Present programming
    art classes, lectures, exhibitions
  • Manage cultural facilities
    performance or exhibition spaces, museums, arts incubators, live/work spaces
  • Provide services to artists and arts organizations
    professional development, visibility and advocacy support, technical assistance, group health insurance
  • Participate and often lead community cultural planning
    assessing community’s cultural needs and mapping a implementation plan
  • Advocate & promote arts-friendly policies
    ensure funding and government policies that support the arts and arts education
  • Forge partnerships with elected, business, and other community leaders
    chambers of commerce, school districts, faith-based organizations
  • Manage a public art program
    public art installations, percent for art programs, beautify community parks and neighborhoods

How do LAAs Get Funding to do their Work?

  • Local government allocations
  • Grants from State Arts Agency
  • Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts
  • Grants from foundations and businesses
  • Donations from Individuals
  • Membership dues
  • Fees for services and programs provided to the community
  • United Fund Campaign and work place giving programs

How Do I Get Involved?