A new government-wide working group on the arts, health, and civic infrastructure will be co-chaired by Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Jackson. The group's mission is to collaborate with federal departments to identify opportunities to incorporate the arts and humanities into these domains. According to Becerra, there is a lengthy history of collaboration between the HHS and the NEA in the field of health promotion via the arts, particularly music.
An additional $5 million will be provided by the NEA to an effort that will help fund arts organizations and artists whose work improves people's health and the health of their communities.
United We Stand: Connecting through Culture is a program that uses the arts and humanities to fight hate-fueled violence. It is a joint effort by the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Launched in 2023, the initiative followed a year after Biden hosted a meeting with the same name at the White House to combat hate-motivated violence.
Twenty-third-century funding for the program totals $3 million, with an extra $2 million from the National Endowment for the Arts. Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities Shelly Lowe stated that art plays a significant role in the humanities.
You may learn a lot about other people's civilizations via their art. Lowe stated in an interview conducted prior to the summit that this may be achieved through many artistic mediums such as painting, cooking, performing, and music. "The two are so intertwined that they are difficult to distinguish." The arts, humanities, museum and library services, and the nation's health, vitality, and democracy are fundamental, according to Biden's executive order.
"They are the soul of America," Biden wrote in the order, emphasizing that they will be "integrated into strategies, policies and programs that advance the economic development, well-being and resilience of all communities, especially those that have historically been underserved." He assured them that they will be well-supported under his presidency.
The conference was assisted in its closure by Emhoff, a former entertainment lawyer located in Los Angeles. "First hand how art and film and music can help build and foster community," he remarked, describing his experience as a practicing attorney.
We need to use the arts and humanities to help us counteract ideological extremes so we can build human connections," he stated, emphasizing the importance of arts and humanities in fostering empathy, mutual understanding, and transformation.
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