Art Renaissance Initiative
A non profit organization dedicated to creation, 
promotion and sharing of the arts.

About the Art Renaissance Initiative

Created in Phoenix in 1992 as a 501[c][3] nonprofit organization dedicated to education, art and culture, the Art Renaissance Initiative (ARI) rapidly established itself as one of the most innovative catalyst on the Arizona cultural scene.

    In 1993, ARI commissioned An American Requiem, a large work of memorial music to ASU composer James DeMars, and presented it in various venues, including the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and Saint John the Divine in New York City, The New York concert was subsequently broadcast on 80 PBS stations around the country. It was produced again in 2002 and 2004 to commemorate the September-11 tragedy.

     In 1998, ARI established the first Arizona Vivaldi Festival, a revival of the celebrated Baroque composer. Over the years, it produced a number of world and American premieres. Now in its fifth edition, the Festival has become the world’s largest event dedicated to Vivaldi and its time.

     Starting in 1996, ARI engaged in an ambitious publishing project, the Arizona Millennium Trilogy. The first title, Faces of Arizona, dedicated to artists and patrons, was released in 1999. It was followed in 2001 by Angels of Arizona, dedicated to philanthropists and the charities they support, and in 2005 by Voices of Arizona, focused on community leaders. Encouraged by the success of this trilogy, ARI is presently considering a second one, the Arizona Centennial Trilogy, to be completed in 2012 for the state Statehood Centennial.

     For its contributions to the arts and culture in Arizona, the Art Renaissance Initiative has been repeatedly nominated to the Governor’s Arts Awards.

Mission Statement
The Art Renaissance Initiative acknowledges as its founding principles:
- Art fosters education and culture.
- Fine arts and music are an elaborate, inspirational and uplifting human language of universal appeal.
- Art serves as each generation's signature for the following generation.
- The twenty-first century will celebrate cultures and nations, providing unprecedented opportunities for educational and cultural exchanges and for the sharing and enjoyment of our diversities.
- There is a similarity of spirit across cultures and nations who value beauty and creativity in the arts.
- The Art Renaissance Initiative shall establish venues to celebrate the arts, and shall strive to make them accessible, enjoyable and inspiring to the people of today and tomorrow.