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President Committee members engage in a range of PCAH projects, here it is a community service project with one of the PCAH National Youth Arts & Humanities Program award winners. Photo by Andrea Dylewski
President Committee members engage in a range of PCAH projects, here it is a community service project with one of the PCAH National Youth Arts & Humanities Program award winners. Photo by Andrea Dylewski
Restored with Save America’s Treasures funds, the Star-Spangled Banner is one of hundreds of treasures preserved through this PCAH public-private collaboration. Photo by Ira Block/National Geographic & J. Tinsley, NTHP
Restored with Save America’s Treasures funds, the Star-Spangled Banner is one of hundreds of treasures preserved through this PCAH public-private collaboration. Photo by Ira Block/National Geographic & J. Tinsley, NTHP
Opera singer Jessye Norman receives the National Medal of Arts from the President, an event supported by PCAH.
Opera singer Jessye Norman receives the National Medal of Arts from the President, an event supported by PCAH.

Created in 1982 under President Reagan, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) is an advisory committee to the White House on cultural issues.  The PCAH works directly with the three primary cultural agencies—National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services—as well as other federal partners and the private sector, to address policy questions in the arts and humanities, to initiate and support key programs in those disciplines and to recognize excellence in the field.   Its core areas of focus are arts and humanities education, cultural exchange, and creative economy.

Under the leadership of the First Lady and PCAH’s Honorary Chairman, and through the efforts of its federal and private members, the President’s Committee has compiled an impressive legacy over its tenure, conducting major research and policy analysis, and catalyzing important federal cultural programs, both domestic and international.  These achievements rely on the President’s Committee’s unique role in bringing together the White House, federal agencies, civic organizations, corporations, foundations and individuals to strengthen the United State’s national investment in its cultural life.  

Central to the PCAH mission is using the power of the arts and humanities to contribute to the vibrancy of our society, the education of our children, the creativity of our citizens and the strength of our democracy.

Examples of the President's Committee's activities over the years

  • Catalyzed the federal Save America's Treasures (1999) to leverage public/private investment in our nations cultural and historic resources;
  • Created the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards (formerly Coming Up Taller) to encourage and support exemplary after school arts and humanities programs;
  • Formulated recommendations for President Clinton in Creative America (1997) on advancing the nation’s interdependent cultural support system.
  • Convened the U.S. Cultural & Heritage Tourism Summit (2005) to develop a national strategy for cultural and heritage  tourism for the benefit of the nation’s economy and communities. 
  • Led unprecedented cultural delegation to China in 2007;