The Alliance gives a collective voice on behalf of its members, small and large, that leverages support for the field as a whole; promotes successful practices in the field; and advocates for creative environments that support the work of today's artists. 

We advocate:

• on behalf of the field of artists' communities and creative environments in general, to funders, policymakers, researchers, and the public

We provide:

• a forum on support for today's artists
• professional development opportunities to the field
• research and benchmarking data 
• funding partnerships -- bringing new financial resources to the field

We connect:

• our members to each other through networking opportunities
• artists, students, and others to information on artists' communities
• the field to other professionals in the arts, sciences and beyond

Alliance initiatives include:

Residency consortia that address critical issues to artists and the field. Through funding partnerships, these consortia have leveraged more than $2 Million to artists and artists’ communities since 2003

• New Voices in Modern Arab Literature, in partnership with Beirut39 and The Hay Festival, supporting residencies for emerging Arab writers at 22 residency sites in 5 countries [ www.artistcommunities.org/beirut39 ]
• Visions from the New California, with The James Irvine Foundation, supporting under-served visual artists in California through residencies, grant awards, publicity, and exhibition [ www.visionsfromthenewcalifornia.org ]
• Midwestern Voices and Visions, with The Joyce Foundation, supporting under-served artists of color in the Midwest through residencies, grant awards, publicity, and exhibition [ www.midwestvoicesandvisions.org ]
• Creative Renewal, with The James Irvine Foundation, supporting Gulf Coast artists of all disciplines with emergency residencies and grants following Hurricane Katrina
• Beyond Katrina, with The Ford Foundation, supporting artists’ communities in New Orleans

Dance Residency Project, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, developing stronger resources for the creative development of choreographers and dancers

Publications, including Artists Communities: A Directory of Residencies that offer Time and Space for Creativity; and The Ultimate Residency Resource Guide

Fiscal Sponsorship, providing critical capacity-building support to artist residency programs through fiscal agency.

Professional development services to artists’ communities through conferences, research, publicity, consulting, and management tools; the Leadership Institute, developing stronger leaders in the field; and the Emerging Program Institute, sharing best-practices with new artists’ communities

National advocacy to funders, policy-makers, arts leaders, and others on behalf of artists’ communities specifically and in support of artists in general

Strategic gatherings, including our annual conference, symposia on creativity, and national planning summits

Artists resources online, in print, and in person through Be Our Guest, a series of public sessions on residencies and other opportunities for artists