The national arts advocacy organization Americans for the Arts will be hosting its annual conference in Albuquerque from June 2-5, 2026. Among the speakers will be 1980’s famed actress Molly Ringwald, as well as national and local officials focused on the importance of arts and culture in communities.
Americans for the Arts is the country’s largest arts advocacy organization focused on advancing pro-arts policies on the federal, state, and local levels through advocacy.
Erin Harkey, chief executive officer said this isn’t a traditional conference setting.
“It's really about bringing people together into the same room to ask, ‘what kind of future we want? And what role we want creativity to play in getting us there?’” she said. “But we really designed this gathering to be immersive, action-oriented, and deeply connected to the community.”
Activities include all-day trips to Santa Fe and the Pueblo of Acoma to experience local community culture and arts, among various other sessions.
Harkey said the most important thing is to help connect constituents to their elected officials because they will be the most impacted by federal changes in arts funding.
“It really is sort of our small, hard-to-reach communities that don't have other sources of funding that are going to be the hardest hit, and these are the communities that are the heart and soul of their neighborhoods, your local theater, your local community center that's putting on a production,” she said.
The conference registration is open to everyone.
Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
