Strengthening Arts-Led Leadership and Partnerships in AI: A National Summit
Overview
Join national arts and design faculty, arts and industry leaders, artists, and AI collaborators for the 2nd Annual National Summit on AI and the arts. Inspired by the 2024 Summit’s findings, “Centering the Arts in the Age of AI,” the conversation continues this year with a focus on arts-led leadership and partnerships in AI.
Hosted in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and featuring other industry leaders, this gathering will explore how the arts can:
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- drive innovation
- shape ethical and inclusive AI development
- expand workforce pathways through creative practice.
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Grounded in empathy and interdisciplinary partnership, the summit will spotlight actionable strategies for integrating the arts into AI education, research, and policy. Activating the recommendations in the report, we will explore opportunities to bring the perspective of the arts into business and industry to expand the leadership potential of the arts. Be part of the movement redefining creativity and cultural leadership in the age of intelligent machines.
Who Should Attend:
This summit gathers a cross-section of those interested in the intersection of creative, arts, empathy, and AI, including university faculty and staff, AI researchers, individual artists and creatives, and industry professionals. See who attended last year.
Location:
Amazon HQ2 Executive Briefing Center, Aurora Building (WAS16), 1770 Crystal Drive, Arlington, VA, 22202
Registration & Costs:
There is no charge to attend. Capacity is limited, so please register only if you plan to attend.
Registration link will be available on this page in mid-August.
Agenda
September 24th – Pre-Summit AWS Generative AI Immersion Day
You are invited to join us for an optional pre-summit AWS Immersion Day on Generative AI from 9 AM to 3 PM on September 24th. In this Immersion Day you’ll learn about core generative AI and prompt engineering concepts, get hands-on experience with Amazon Bedrock, AWS’s cloud service for building generative AI applications and agents, and various foundation models such as Amazon Nova Foundation Models, Anthropic Claude, StabilityAI Stable Diffusion, and more.
Space in the immersion day is limited and will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis to attendees from education institutions and the arts communities.
September 25th-26th – National Summit
Draft agenda is below. The final Summit agenda will be published several weeks before the event.
Summit Day 1: Framing the Challenge
Thursday | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Welcome & Opening Remarks
- Arts, Empathy and AI Summit (2024) Report: Centering the Arts in the Age of AI
- AI Workforce Forecast
Coffee Break
- Alumni Panel: Recent Graduate Experiences
- Industry Panel
Lunch & Networking
- Academy Spotlight
Coffee Break
- Breakout Sessions: Gap Analysis, developing inquiry, & forming actionable items
- Day 1 Clearing House Discussion: Reflection and Review
Summit Day 2: Building Solutions
Friday | 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
- Symposium Day 1 Recap & Agenda Setting
- Visionary Panel: Multi-Sector Perspectives
Coffee Break
- Industry Partnership Panel
- Philanthropy & Funding Panel
Lunch & Networking
- Breakout Sessions
Coffee Break
- Breakout Group Proposal Report Outs & Action Planning
- Day 2 Clearing House Discussion & Closing: Next Steps & Commitments
Travel, Lodging, and Logistics
GETTING TO THE SUMMIT
The Washington, DC metropolitan area, known colloquially as “the DMV” (for District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is easily accessible by air, train, and car.
- Air
- Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) (5-minute cab ride from the Summit site!!)
- Dulles International Airport (IAD)
- Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI).
- Train
- Car
- Interstates highways I-95, I-66, I-270, and I-495 (the infamous “Beltway” that encircles Washington, DC).
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority runs comprehensive subway (the Metro) and bus (Metrobus) services in the region. Arlington County supplements Metrobus routes with Arlington Transit (ART) buses.
Aurora (WAS16) is conveniently located one block from the Crystal City Metro Station (Yellow Line), one block from the VRE Crystal City station, as well near multiple Metrobus and ART stops. Most of the DMV is easily accessible via public transportation.
LODGING
Summit attendees are responsible for booking their own accommodation. There is no reserved block of hotel rooms.
There are nine hotels within a 10-minute walk of Aurora (WAS16), and many other hotels are available in the region.
PARKING
Visitors to Aurora (WAS16) may park in the parking garage beneath the building.The garage can be entered off either 18th St or Crystal Drive.
DINING
Coffee breaks and lunch will be provided during the Summit. Vegetarian/vegan options will be available.
For evening dining, there are many restaurants near the venue and neighborhood hotels along Crystal City Drive, 18th Street South, and 15th Street South.
The DMV is renowned for dining experiences; there are more than 25 Michelin-starred restaurants in the area and hundreds of other excellent restaurants. Nearly all of them are a short cab, rideshare, or Metro ride from the venue. Reservations are strongly recommended – and sometimes mandatory – for popular restaurants in the region, especially if dining as a group.
ACCESSIBILITY
Amazon and AWS are committed to accessibility. Aurora (WAS16) is an accessible building, but we do ask that you let the summit organizers know if accommodations are necessary so we can prepare appropriately.
SECURITY and CHECK IN
Aurora (WAS16) is a secure building. Summit attendees will check-in at the Aurora lobby and will be limited to the Executing Briefing Center (13th and 14th floors). Please bring photo identification to the check-in.