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Americas Society Landmark

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Mission Statement

The Americas Society promotes the understanding of the political, economic, and cultural issues that define and challenge the Americas today, from the Arctic Circle to the southernmost tip of Argentina. We believe that innovative artistic expression is vital to free societies and provides an invaluable window on the ever-evolving reality of our Hemisphere. Understanding the people and societies of the region is essential to promoting our agenda of democracy, the rule of law, and free trade.

As a not-for-profit institution, the Americas Society is financed by membership dues and contributions from corporations, foundations, individuals, and public agencies including, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York Council on the Humanities and the New York State Council on the Arts. This wide base of public and private support enables the Americas Society to offer programs of the highest caliber to a broad and diverse audience with a common interest in hemispheric affairs.

History

In 1965, a group of noted businessmen led by David Rockefeller founded the Center for Inter-American Relations. As the Center’s mission was articulated in 1970, "Ignorance of our neighbors [is] neither sensible nor safe, neither smart nor neighborly, neither good economics, nor good manners…In this light, the Center has a clear and simple objective to inform leading professional, academic, business, artistic and government people of the value, the achievements and the problems of other countries of the Americas." The Center for Inter-American Relations was later to be absorbed into Americas Society in 1985. And, since that time, the Americas Society has played a pivotal role in disseminating the cultural achievements of Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada in the United States.

In celebration of the Americas Society’s thirty-fifth anniversary, and of David Rockefeller’s eighty-fifth birthday, we proudly present A Hemispheric Venture: Thirty-Five Years of Culture at the Americas Society, 1965-2000. This spectacular book is a collection of historical photographs and informative essays by several experts on the cultures of the region. Many of the authors were chosen because they have played important roles in the Society’s history of promoting cultural understanding through visual art, literature, and musical programs.

Americas Society Gallery

Housed in a former private house built in 1911, the Americas Society's gallery concentrates on artists from all countries of North and South America. The Society mounts about four exhibitions per year, ranging from historical shows that concentrate on pre-Columbian Aztec and Mayan works, to exhibitions that trace the roots of early 20th century modernists such as Pissaro and Tamayo. The Americas Society also presents a wide range of programs that feature readings an concerts from works by authors and artists from Latin America, Canada and the Caribbean

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