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
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
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
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
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
Photo by Tony Brown

PCAH SpotlightPCAH Spotlight

Reinvesting in Arts Education - Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools

The President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) announces the release of its landmark report Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America's Future Through Creative Schools.  The culmination of 18 months of research, meetings with stakeholders, and site visits all over the country, this report represents an in-depth review of the current condition of arts education, including an update of the current research base about arts education outcomes, and an analysis of the challenges and opportunities in the field that have emerged over the past decade. It also includes a set of recommendations to federal, state and local policymakers. A summary of the report is here.
White House Blog: Reinvesting in Arts Education

What's NewWhat's New

Film Forward Announces Films and Filmmakers for 2012

Six American and four international filmmakers have been invited to  participate in Film Forward: Advancing Cultural Dialogue  for the second year  of this program. This program continues a successful public/private cultural film exchange effort by the President’s Committee on the ... Read More »

National Student Poets Program

The President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) have partnered with the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers to create the National Student Poets Program, the country’s highest honor for youth poets whose ... Read More »

BRAVO's Work of Art: The Next Great Artist Highlights Value of Arts Education

Arts education was one of the highlights of an episode that aired on November 2 on Work of Art: The Next Great Artist. President’s Committee member Sarah Jessica Parker is the executive producer of this hit BRAVO show, which features contestants who compete for a gallery exhibition, a cash prize ... Read More »

First Lady Michelle Obama Presents 2011 NAHYP Awards at White House Ceremony

With their personal stories offering dramatic proof that arts and humanities programs can build critical learning and life skills, twelve young people from across the country were awarded the 2011 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award by First Lady Michelle Obama on November 2. ... Read More »

Members BlogMembers Blog

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 »

Nurturing Creativity Through Poetry

April 25, 2011 – Olivia Morgan

On April 25, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan joined the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and 826DC to celebrate young poets. The PCAH, led by committee member Olivia Morgan, help support a three-month series of poetry workshop for DC high school students that culminated in this April 25 event, which she describes in this blog. I’d just spent time in a youth poetry workshop at 826DC, a nonprofit organization that helps students ages 6-18 develop writing skills, as well as train teachers.  After spending two hours at their new facility in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC watching staff  guide a group of underserved kids through poetry writing exercises, I wanted to understand the challenges organizations like these face. I asked, what do you need? Revealing their instinctive focus, Joe Callahan and Mariam Al-Shawaf, the center’s director and deputy, reinterpreted my question. “Attention” they said simultaneously.  “These kids just need attention.” The President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities has spent the past 18 months developing a wide-ranging survey on the role of arts in education.  It examines both the ... Read More »

Honorary ChairmanHonorary Chairman

“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

About Our MembersAbout Our Members

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.

Read more about the President's Committee and read the Chairmen's Letter »