On August 8-10, Americans for the Arts partnered with the Aspen Institute Arts Program to convene the sixth annual Americans for the Arts Aspen Seminar for Leadership in the Arts. Every year, the seminar brings together a select group of 25-30 artists, philanthropists, corporate and foundation leaders, and arts practitioners in an engaged dialogue that explores how we can create a more vibrant role for arts and culture in American society.

The 2013 topic was The Arts and the Military: A Strategic Partnership. Participants worked to answer a key question: How can the arts play a more active, meaningful role in addressing a vast array of critical issues across the military spectrum?

The seminar kicked off with an opening dinner, which featured a performance by students from the Aspen School of Music, followed by a day of presentations and discussion focused on issues relevant to members of the military, their families, and the medical professionals who work with returning servicemen and women suffering from traumatic brain injuries and post traumatic stress. Bob Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts, and Commander Moira McGuire, Program Manager of the Warrior Clinic & Director of the Creative Arts Program at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, began with an overview of the history of arts integration into the military as well as a debrief on Americans for the Arts ongoing partnership with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as co-leads of The National Initiative for Arts & Health in the Military.

This presentation was followed by a panel on creative approaches to healing, which featured multiple artists and art leaders, and lastly a presentation by Ret. Brigadier General Nolen Bivens, US Army on the potential for the arts to contribute to cultural diplomacy and U.S. national security. All of the presentations yielded proactive and productive discussions amongst all participants about the role of the arts in helping our military community and their families heal from the physical and psychological wounds of war.

The final day of the seminar focused on drilling down the discussion into action steps and policy recommendations.  A report on these vital recommendations will be synthesized into the upcoming work of the National Arts Policy Roundtable at Sundance, which in turn will yield a series of policy recommendations that will be published and used to help move ideas into action.