Telling Our Story: 2026 National Arts in Education Conference
March 25-27, 2026
Washington, D.C | The Westin Washington, D.C. City Center
This spring, our flagship national conference lands in the nation’s capital, just steps from the halls of Congress. Telling Our Story will be a dynamic, hands-on gathering focused on the power of narrative: how we craft it, share it, and use it to advance the power of arts learning. Together, we will explore how stories resonate across constituencies, shape shared understandings, and reveal the true impact of our work.
Join us as we come together to write the next chapter of arts education, where policy meets purpose, and where every voice helps shape the story!
Please stay tuned to this site for the latest news and information.
About Our National Conferences
Young Audiences Arts for Learning’s National Arts in Education Conference brings together arts education professionals and practitioners from around the country. Presented every other spring by Young Audiences Arts for Learning (YA) in partnership with a local YA affiliate, each conference explores a themed related to arts education through breakout sessions, keynote addresses, site visits, and other activities.
Our National Conferences aim to serve diverse constituents who are interested in the arts in education field the local, state, and national levels. Conference participants include nonprofit administrators and executive leadership, teaching artists, teachers, higher education faculty, and others from the field engaged in improving student access to the arts and arts learning.
Past National Arts in Education Conferences:
2024 National Arts in Education Conference, April 3-5, 2024
theWit Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
Conference Photo Galleries (Chicago, 2024)
Arts & Action: Building Pathways for Partnership and Engagement in Classrooms and Communities, March 30-April 1, 2022
NOPSI Hotel, New Orleans, Louisiana
No Limits: Supporting Children with Learning Differences, April 3-5, 2019
Le Méridien Houston Downtown, Houston, Texas
The Company We Keep: A Professional Learning Gathering of the Young Audiences Network, April 5-7, 2018
Le Méridien Denver Downtown, Denver, Colorado
Digital Transformation: A National Arts-in-Education Conference, April 20-22, 2017
Metropolitan at The 9 Hotel, Cleveland, Ohio
Growing Up with the Arts, April 14-16, 2016
At the Eden Roc Resort Miami Beach, Miami, Florida
Building Partnerships through Community Connections, April 23-25, 2015
Kansas City Marriott Country Club Plaza, Kansas City, Missouri
Where Art Lives, April 24-26, 2014
US Grant Hotel, San Diego, California
Moving Forward: Arts and Education in the Age of Globalization, April 25-27, 2013
The Roosevelt Hotel, New York, New York
Building Creative Connections: The Science of Learning and the Arts, April 19-21, 2012
Four Seasons, Baltimore, Maryland