Every October, National Arts and Humanities Month provides us the opportunity to celebrate the profound importance of arts and humanities in shaping our lives, communities, and country.

The arts and humanities help us tell our stories on our terms and make sense of the world. They offer us nuanced understanding, different ways of thinking, and open new sources of inspiration and innovation. Critically, the arts protect and advance our humanity, allowing us to embrace our commonalities and recognize our meaningful differences with respectful curiosity. Arts and culture make the space and provide a language to capture the complexities of our American story more fully and embolden us to stand in the space of possibility – imagining a more hopeful and just future.
 
The integration of the arts in every facet of our lives and society is vital to ensuring that we not only imagine but also create a more equitable and just future for all. At the National Endowment for the Arts, we are committed to deepening our collaboration across the federal government and with state, regional, and local organizations; supporting research into the effects of the arts on health, education, public safety, and more; and bolstering arts ecosystems that foster opportunities for arts participation and engagement to help all people lead artful lives and thrive.
 
Throughout October, the NEA will be celebrating National Arts and Humanities month on arts.gov and all its social media platforms. I hope you will join us in recognizing and celebrating all that the arts and humanities contribute to us as individuals and a society.