The Arts of the Americas Institute (AAI) was established by the University of New Mexico’s (UNM) College of Fine Arts in 1999. The AAI is committed to engaging artists, scholars, students, and educators in innovative programs and encourages individual and institutional collaborations for Teaching and Learning and Research and Creative Work and Community Projects.

In concept, the AAI is one of the most unique academic centers in the country. Located in a centralized and strategic cultural area of the U.S. southwest, its mission differs from the more standard format of area research centers, e.g., ethnic studies, international area studies (e.g., African studies, Latin American studies), or specific topical studies. Interdisciplinary in programmatic and research goals, the AAI seeks to develop programs and research/performance projects integrating the arts with the humanities, and the social and physical sciences.

Another unique strength of the AAI is included in its mission statement, that of supporting the study and communication of the arts, "especially cultures that have been historically marginalized." Most centers throughout the university system articulating this goal are very often specific ethnic study centers. The AAI, while broad in its definition of the arts of the Americas and the global confluence of cultures within the Americas, is also unique when compared to national trends in its concern for areas historically under-represented, e.g., American Indian, Latin American, African American, and Asian American art forms and their study and diffusion.

AAI Funding

The AAI is funded internally by UNM for its staff and operational budget. Programs, initiatives, and proposals developed by the Institute are largely funded by both extramural and internal grants and gifts. A fundraising plan is presently in development with the private sector and various foundational grant proposals are constantly in development.

The AAI Advisory Board

An advisory board for the AAI was established in 2003 and is composed of a group of individuals representing both the academic and private sectors. The goal and purpose of the board is to advise the AAI administration on issues including funding, programming, organization concepts, and the need for consistent philosophical discussion and renewal.

The mission of the Arts of the Americas Institute is based on the following philosophies:

Cultural Diversity

To focus on cultural diversity in such a way that the University of New Mexico can enhance its base of research and education in terms of cultural areas in the arts that have not been sufficiently developed at UNM, especially those of the Native American, Latin American, and African American.

Interdisciplinary Work

To foster an interdisciplinary format and philosophy in all of the work sustained by the AAI, tapping into the rich empirical, theoretical, and area studies and scholars at UNM and other universities, especially those of the southwestern states, Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America.

Research, Artistic Production, and the Public

The three principal areas of service of the AAI are research, artistic production, and service to the public sector, both in New Mexico and throughout the American continents. Much like the East West Center concepts, the AAI envisions an eventual North South concept in the study and dissemination of the arts.

In the area of research, the AAI seeks to develop and fund innovative research and scholarship through original and socially relevant topics and issues based on need and creativity. Formats for such development include international and local conferences, lecture series, visiting faculty and student residencies, and dissemination of scholarly work on the arts in the form of published materials including documentaries, journals, monographs, anthologies, on-line publications, and archives.

In the area of artistic production, the goals of the AAI include performance and exhibit production, educational programs in the performing and plastic arts, and the development of both original and traditional creative work. A major aspect of these goals include the identification and recruitment of artists representing the unique mission of the AAI.

In the area of the public, the AAI seeks to make relevant and meaningful all of its work and production to the public sector. In creating networks and significant programs throughout the local and international community, a principal goal of the AAI is that of enhancing intercultural understanding and compassion among the various cultures, age groups, social classes, and ideological diversity representing the human experience.