APAP|NYC 2026

Reclaiming power, purpose and impact

At a moment of heightened political, economic and cultural pressure, APAP|NYC 2026 closed with a clear message: the performing arts sector cannot affaord to wait for rescue – it must organise, advocate and lead.

Across five days in New York City, APAP|NYC 2026 brought together leaders from across the performing arts sector to confront the forces reshaping the field and to chart a collective path forward. Opening the conference, APAP President and CEO Lisa Richards Toney framed the organisation as the “connective tissue” of a US $17 billion industry, emphasising the role of presenters and agents in moving work from artists to stages and into communities nationwide. That framing resonated throughout the week, as speakers confronted a post-pandemic landscape shaped by philanthropic shifts, rising costs, increased political scrutiny of cultural expression and accelerating technological change.

Rather than retreating into defensive postures, the programme focused on strategy and agency. Sessions brought together national arts policy leaders – including representatives from the National Endowment for the Arts – alongside legal experts, advocates and artists working at the intersection of creativity, equity and public life. Questions of who gets to create, who gets to tour, and under what conditions were placed firmly at the centre of debate.

Artists and advocates repeatedly returned to the need for courage and clarity. Composer and activist Samora Pinderhughes argued for work that is “dangerous to the status quo”, while poet and cultural leader Marc Bamuthi Joseph challenged delegates to imagine art as a core component of civic infrastructure, rather than a discretionary add-on.

Policy barriers, particularly around international mobility, also emerged as a pressing concern. Arts lawyer Matthew Covey warned of a potential decline of more than 30 per cent in international touring to the United States if current visa and cost pressures continue – a shift that would significantly reshape what American audiences are able to see on stage.

From defence to delivery

Programming was structured around equipping delegates with practical tools. Advocacy sessions focused on messaging the arts in relation to economic development, public health and urban planning, alongside rapid-response training and grant strategy. Elsewhere, conversations on belonging and representation explored how organisations can sustain inclusive practices and protect creative freedom amid growing cultural polarisation.

The economic realities of touring were never far from view. APAP|NYC remains a decisive moment in the annual touring calendar, with presenters and producers setting plans that determine where cultural investment – and employment – will land in the year ahead. The conference underscored the arts as a significant economic engine, with sector leaders noting that arts and culture generate US $1.2 trillion annually, representing 4.2 per cent of US GDP.

Technology and AI were approached with cautious pragmatism. Rather than positioning new tools as an existential threat, sessions explored how artists and organisations can shape their use – streamlining workflows, expanding access and safeguarding creative rights – while keeping human creativity at the centre.

Health and wellbeing also featured prominently, building on pandemic-era learning. From social prescribing to community-based practice, speakers highlighted the expanding role of the arts within broader health and care ecosystems.

A global marketplace with local impact

Alongside plenaries and policy debate, APAP|NYC functioned as both a strategic convening and the world’s largest marketplace for the presenting and touring sector. More than 300 organisations shared new work, while hundreds of showcases across Manhattan launched projects, forged partnerships and set regional and national touring routes.

These decisions have tangible local impact. APAP estimates that the marketplace it convenes helps move around US $46 billion annually into US communities, supporting venues, artists, local businesses and municipal economies.

The conference also reflected APAP’s growing international reach, welcoming delegates from 27 countries, and marked the presentation of its annual Honors Awards, recognising leadership in advocacy, programming and artistic innovation across the field. This year’s honourees included choreographer Cleo Parker Robinson (APAP Award of Merit in the Performing Arts), arts administrator Renae Williams Niles (Fan Taylor Distinguished Service Award), programmer Alicia Adams (William Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence), arts immigration advocate Matthew Covey (Sidney R. Yates Advocacy Award), presenter Colleen Jennings-Roggensack (Arts Champion Award), composer and activist Samora Pinderhughes (Spark of Change Award), and Jannina Norpoth, Chris Williams and Nate Zeisler (Young Performers Career Advancement (YPCA) Award).

As APAP looks ahead to its 70th anniversary in 2027, Richards Toney closed the conference with an emphasis on evolution rather than retrospection, calling for new partnerships, new resource models and a reframing of power and impact. Looking ahead, she positioned APAP as a real-time engine for a performing arts sector approaching US $50 billion in scale, inviting the field not simply to celebrate its history, but to actively shape what comes next.

The takeaway from APAP|NYC 2026 was not a set of easy solutions, but a collective resolve: to protect creative freedom, strengthen the sector’s economic footing and ensure that the performing arts remain a vital force in civic life.