Home | President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

Welcome to the The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities

The President’s Committee bridges the interests of federal agencies and the private sector, supports special projects that increase participation and excellence in the arts and humanities and helps incorporate these disciplines into White House objectives under our Honorary Chair First Lady Michelle Obama.

Photo by Andrea Dylewski

The President’s Committee believes that the arts and humanities should be part of the education of every child in America. The PCAH honors organizations and supports initiatives that give young people the opportunity to experience the mastery, discipline and accomplishment that is part of being an artist and scholar.

Photo by Michael JN Bowles

International cultural exchange and cooperation in a increasingly interconnected world is more important than ever. By fostering those connections with audiences in the U.S. and abroad, the President’s Committee seeks to share ideas, broaden understanding of the riches of cultural traditions from around the world and expand cooperation to sustain and nurture artists, scholars, performers and institutions.

Video still from Throw Down Your Heart

Arts, humanities and heritage resources and their creative workers are a key to healthy, vibrant communities, increasing their competitiveness as places to live, work and visit. Festivals, galleries, studios, historic sites and buildings and a wealth of other cultural and historic assets are integral to the identity of communities and neighborhoods. The President's Committee focuses its leadership on the value of civic investment in these critical resources.

Photo by B. Krist for GPTMC

A healthy cultural climate requires dedicated citizens and civic leadership. The President’s Committee embodies that principle as a dynamic link between the public and private sectors, which is used to support activities that recognize distinguished artists and humanists, as well as celebrate the diversity of American culture as a source of strength.

Photo by Tony Brown

PCAH Launches Turnaround: Arts

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities' new arts education initiative will help turn around low-performing schools.Developed in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education and the White House Domestic Policy Council, the Turnaround Arts initiative is a public-private partnership designed to narrow the achievement gap and increase student engagement through the arts. Working in some of the nation’s lowest-performing elementary and middle schools, this program will test the hypothesis that high-quality and integrated arts education boosts academic achievement, motivates student learning and improves school culture in the context of overall school reform. See the PCAH's landmark study Re-investing in Arts Education: Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools, which provides an in-depth study of arts education and its effect on student success, and is the catalyst for this new effort.

Watch Turnaround Arts partner Crayola's video about PCAH's dynamic new program, featuring Savoy Elementary in Washington, DC.

Yo-Yo Ma and Damiain Woetzel Conduct a Turnaround Arts Workshop

President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities members Yo-Yo Ma and Damian Woetzel conducted a dance and music workshop at Savoy Elementary school in Washington, DC, one of eight schools nationwide to be selected for PCAH’s Turnaround Arts Initiative. Ma is a renowwned cellist and 2001 ... Read More »

FOX Audience Strategy Releases PSA in Partnership with NAHYP

FOX Audience Strategy announced its continued partnership and support of PCAH program, the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards (NAHYP) through a just-released PSA. This special public service announcement, called "Get With The Program," highlights the importance of creative ... Read More »

First Lady Michelle Obama Honors 2012 NAHYP Awardees at White House

First Lady Michelle Obama presented the 2012 NAHYP Awards to the winning program recipients at the White House on Monday, November 19, 2012. Each year, 12 out-of-school arts and humanities youth programs are honored for their accomplishments and celebrated for their transformative effects on ... Read More »

PCAH and the Sundance Institute Announce the 2013 Films and Filmmakers for Film Forward

Eight filmmakers have been invited to participate in this year’s Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue, which uses the power of cinema to engage audiences in dialogue, increasing awareness of shared stories and values across generations, language, education and borders. Now in its third ... Read More »

Re-investing in Arts Education: A Chicago Conversation

July 11, 2012 – Paula Hannaway Crown

Last fall, my husband Jim and I hosted a conversation on arts education in Chicago. One of four such conversations held around the country, the evening was designed to bring together thought leaders, administrators, philanthropists and members of President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH) to discuss the national imperative of arts education and the PCAH’s landmark report Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools. We were pleased to have co-chair Margo Lion, Vice Chair Mary Schmidt Campbell, and fellow PCAH members Damian Woetzel, Yo-Yo Ma, and Howard Gottleib join us for this important evening. Joining them were an impressive list of local academics and educators including: the head of Chicago Public Schools, Jean-Claude Brizard; President Walter Massey of the School of the Art Institute; President Robert Zimmer of the University of Chicago; Timothy Knowles of the Urban Education Initiative; and Deborah Rutter of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Also joining us were a group of prominent civic leaders including Penny Pritzker and Bryan Traubert, Caryn and King Harris, Penny Sebring and Chuck Lewis, Julie and Brian Simmons, ... Read More »

President's Committee Honored with National Award for Arts Education

October 27, 2011 – Margo Lion

On October 17 at their Gala Dinner in New York City, Americans for the Arts (AFTA) honored the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities with the Arts Education Award. George Stevens, Jr,. Rachel Goslins, Liz Manne, Ken Solomon and Damian Woetzel joined me for the festivities, which also celebrated artists Frank Stella (Lifetime Achievement Award), Jenny Holzer (Outstanding Contributions to the Arts Award) and Gabourey Sidibe (Bell Family Foundation Young Artist Award). Americans for the Arts (AFTA) really knows how to host an event, and this night was no exception. The evening was buzzing with lively conversation about the role of the arts—in education, in strengthening community and in economic development. Given the enthusiastic response to our landmark report, Re-investing in Arts Education: Winning America's Future, AFTA chose arts education as a major theme for the evening. It was deeply gratifying to hear echoed again and again the importance of our research and recommendations to those working tirelessly in the trenches. There was an especially exciting moment when Stephen Jones, ... Read More »

“The arts and humanities define who we are as a people. That is their power -- to remind us of what we each have to offer, and what we all have in common. To help us understand our history and imagine our future. To give us hope in the moments of struggle and to bring us together when nothing else will.”

— First Lady Michelle Obama

George Stevens Jr.

Margo Lion

The President’s Committee’s success in engaging the public and private sectors depends on the expertise and leadership of its private and federal members, who embody and represent the diverse elements of the cultural sector.