The Americas Cultural Summit 2021
The Americas Cultural Summit 2021 takes place online, November 1-4, 2021. The event is co-hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies.
The 2021 Summit, the third of its kind, explores the theme Towards a sustainable, equitable, and inclusive future.
The Summit includes participation from the Canada Council for the Arts, including opening remarks from former Director and CEO Simon Brault and a plenary and a panel discussion led by Jesse Wente, Chair.
The 2019 Americas Cultural Summit
The 2019 Americas Cultural Summit took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, June 27-29, 2019.
The program explored the theme of Cultural Change in a Diverse Territory, focusing on the profound changes that continue to affect cultural models and practices.
The First Summit (2018)
The First Americas Cultural Summit was hosted by the Canada Council for the Arts in partnership with Argentina’s Ministry of Culture and the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA). It was held in Ottawa from May 9 to 11, 2018.
The Summit brought together renowned artists, eminent thinkers, and leaders in public arts and culture funding from across the Americas to discuss their role in and impact on the rise of cultural citizenship.
The Summit culminated in a joint call to action that commits delegates to ongoing dialogue, collaboration and exchange. It reflects their shared values and priorities, and celebrates the rich diversity that unites the Americas region.
The highlights of 2018 Americas Cultural Summit
Voices of the Summit
Participants share their views on the Summit.
Summit Statistics

Image of Americas Cultural Summit 2018 Statistics including discussion themes, gender balance of presenters and delegates, percentage of post-event survey respondents that are motivated to form new collaborations and partnerships, and participation data on the primary language of presenters and types of delegates, as well as countries represented.
Summit Themes
Arts and Social Change, Creating Commons for Digital Inclusion, Cultural Rights, Diversity and Inclusion, Indigenous Rights, Participatory Governance, and Truth, Memory and Reconciliation
Participant Data (169 Delegates)
Delegates | Percentage |
---|---|
Public Funder | 46% |
Organization | 17% |
Government | 16% |
Association | 8% |
Artist | 7% |
Academic | 4% |
Private Foundation | 2% |
92% of post-event survey respondents are motivated to form new collaborations and partnerships
33 Countries Represented
Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Rapa Nui, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sweden, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and United States of America
Event Program
The following question guided the Summit: How can government, institutions, practitioners, artists and citizens work together to help build more vibrant, open and pluralist democracies, which respect, promote and protect the right of everyone to take part in cultural life?
Speakers

Karima Bennoune (USA)

Astra Taylor (Canada/USA)
Writer, Documentarian, Organizer

Alberto Manguel (Argentina/Canada)
Director of the National Library of Argentina, Writer

Alonso Salazar J. (Colombia)
Consultant, Writer, former Mayor of Medellín

Leandro Carvalho (Brazil)
UK Chevening Clore Fellow
Former Secretary of State for Culture, Mato Grosso, Brazil
Artist

Jesse Wente (Canada)
Director, Indigenous Screen Office

Mauricio Delfín (Peru)
Researcher, Promoter of Open Government in Cultural Sectors

Elizabeth Silkes (USA)
Executive Director, International Coalition of Sites of Conscience

Cristóbal Bianchi (Chile)
Artist, Editor and Founder, Casagrande Art Collective

María Laura Ruggiero (Argentina)
Filmmaker, Animator and Storyteller

Eliza Chandler (Canada)
Assistant Professor, School of Disability Studies, Ryerson University

María Claudia Parias Durán (Colombia)
CEO, Batuta National Foundation

The Honourable María de los Ángeles González (Argentina)
Minister of Innovation and Culture for the Government of the Province of Santa Fe

Rhodnie Désir (Canada)
Choreographer, Artistic Director of RDCreations and Executive Producer of BOW’T TRAIL

Tito Hasbun (Canada-El Salvador)
Consulting Director, Asociación de Arte para el Desarrollo

Amor Muñoz (Mexico)
Artist

Jax Deluca (USA)
Director of Media Arts, National Endowment for the Arts

Michèle Stephenson (Panama/Haiti/Canada/USA)
Filmmaker, Artist, Author

Taeyoon Choi (USA)
Artist and activist

Angie Leslye Pont Chamorro (Rapa Nui)
Artist, Cultural carrier and Curator

Kenneth N. Frankel (Canada)
President, Canadian Council for the Americas

The Honourable Olivia Grange CD, MP (Jamaica)
Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport

Juan Meliá (Mexico)
Executive Secretary, National Fund for Culture and the Arts (FONCA)

Moniqu Manatch (Canada, Algonquin Nation)
(Canada, Algonquin Nation)

Magdalena Moreno Mujica (Australia)
Executive Director, IFACCA

Simon Brault (Canada)
Director and CEO, Canada Council for the Arts (2014–23)

Carolyn Warren (Canada)
Director General, Arts Granting Programs, Canada Council for the Arts

Martin Inthamoussú (Uruguay)
Artist and cultural manager

Javiera Parada (Chile)
Actress, cultural manager and activist

The Hon. Fernando Griffith (Paraguay)
Minister and Executive Secretary of the National Secretariat of Culture