The Association of Performing Arts Professionals has announced early details about APAP|NYC 2024. The 67th annual conference APAP|NYC 2024 will take place in New York from January 12-16, 2024. More than 3000 industry professionals will attend the conference at the New York Hilton Midtown—and performing arts showcases throughout New York City.   

APAP is the leading national service organization for performing arts presenting, booking, and touring. Producing the world’s leading conference for this industry and supporting professionals in the field year-round, APAP ensures a thriving performing arts industry focused on commerce, as well as community and creation.  

“We are beyond excited for this year’s convening where we will welcome thousands of world-class artists and professionals who make the performing arts happen in our communities across North America and beyond” observes APAP President and CEO Lisa Richards Toney.  

“These five days every January in New York are the catalyst that has energized the industry’s year-round work of booking, touring, and presenting live performance for decades and that will propel us into the future. This collective space—APAP’s big tent that includes professionals, both emerging and seasoned, of all missions, functions, disciplines and genres—is where we recharge, reignite, and drive the performing arts forward.” 

Highlights of APAP|NYC 2024 will include:  

• Gender-fluid drag queen, winner of Ru Paul’s Drag Race and performing artist Sasha Velour will be featured at the conference’s opening plenary on January 12. APAP has taken a strong stand against laws prohibiting drag performance and the mounting hate crimes against this community. 

• The APAP Honors awards will be presented to seven-time Grammy winner and two-time Oscar nominee Terence Blanchard; game-changing dance and arts managers Lisa Booth and Deirdre Valente; Lincoln Center’s Chief Artistic Officer Shanta Thake; nationally renowned arts researcher Randy Cohen; prominent arts philanthropists John W. Brown and Rosemary Kopel Brown; and emerging dance artivist Ruby Morales. Booth, who died earlier this year, will be honored posthumously. The awards ceremony will take place on Monday, January 15 at 9:30 a.m.

• To date, this year’s conference will welcome attendees from 18 countries outside the US and Canada. Appearing and being represented during APAP is now more critical than ever for artists and troupes who need to secure international tours in order to guarantee their short and long-term viability. Eight members from Gambia’s International Kunta Kinte Festival will be attending for the first time. Sessions will focus on international cultural exchange and address post-pandemic strategies for obtaining visas.

• Acclaimed public interest lawyer Bryan Stevenson, founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, will lead a conversation entitled “Surviving and Thriving as a Field in Politically Fractious Time” that explores how to stay true to and advocate for your values, while making our case to our patrons, funders, and politicians. A frequent collaborator of Stevenson, Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic, will be a conversant and perform a creative moment. January 13, 11:00 a.m-12:15 p.m.

• APAP’s Young Performers Career Advancement program (YPCA), which supports classical musicians early in their careers will once again present a showcase of their work at Carnegie Hall. The event is free and open to the general public event on Monday, January 15, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Learn about the artists here. 

  The APAP|NYC 2024 conference offers a wide breadth of activities that range from performance showcases to networking and finalizing deals between presenters and agents to seminars on the issues that the performing arts industry faces.    Throughout the years, appearing at APAP has helped launch and advance the careers of a wide breadth of talented solo artists and groups. A few recent examples of rising and established artists include Ephrat Asherie Dance; the open participation group, Choir!, Choir!, Choir!; Ukrainian folk music quartet DakhaBrakha; classical artists Eighth Blackbird, Ronald K. Brown’s EVIDENCE dance company; classical artists Imani Winds; Manuel Cinema’s production of Frankenstein; Grammy winning singer Lisa Fischer; Emmy-award winning jazz artist Michael Mwenso, MacArthur genius recipients Taylor Mac and Liz Lerman; choreographer Richard Move; blues soul artist Martha Redbone; and Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso and composer Jake Shimabukuro.  

Italy’s aerial acrobatics troupe, eVenti Verticali and Colombia’s Sankofa Danzafro dance company are just two examples of international acts whose repeated showcases during APAP have guaranteed bookings around the world. eVenti Verticali presents its work as part of APAP’s UP NEXT! Artist Pitch Session on January 12. Learn about all of the UP NEXT artists here.  

The Catalyst Behind the World’s Largest Performing Arts Convergence:   APAP is the catalyst behind JanArtsNYC, now the world’s largest convergence of performing arts industry gatherings and performance festivals. This astonishing array of independently run performing arts festivals, readings, and showcases celebrates the newest work in theater, dance, opera, music, and performance. JanArtsNYC is a partnership led by APAP and the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.   More than 45,000 people from around the world take part in JanArtsNYC events, whether they’re performers, performing arts professionals, or audience members.(globalFEST at Lincoln Center and Under the Radar are two examples of high-profile January festivals that were incubated via the annual APAP|NYC conference.)    Ensuring the Future Viability of Performing Artists Throughout the World:   APAP|NYC gives new and established touring artists and groups the chance to perform their work directly in front of the “presenters” from the United States and around the world. Presenters travel to New York to attend APAP|NYC 2024 and to make commitments and solidify their performance calendars for the next few years.     A “presenter“ can be defined as a person (or a presenting organization) that offers performances of artistic events and touring productions of all genres, including but not limited to theater, concerts, dance, comedy, circus, and youth and family programming.    APAP|NYC 2024 represents the most pivotal industry event of the year where presenters and agents negotiate and finalize tours and engagements that could dictate an artist’s or artistic group’s future viability. Contracts are signed and deals that have been percolating since regional meetings in the Fall are finalized in person.  

Economic Impact Felt Throughout All 50 States:   The five days of APAP|NYC 2024 play an increasingly pivotal role in assuring the success and overall long-term health and growth of the performing arts touring industry:  

• In 2022, nonprofit arts and culture organizations and their audiences generated $151.7 billion in economic activity—$73.3 billion in spending by the organizations, which leveraged an additional $78.4 billion in event-related spending by their audiences.  

• The impact of this economic activity is far reaching, supporting 2.6 million jobs, generating $29.1 billion in tax revenue, and providing $101 billion in personal income to residents.

• Much of this economic activity is directly attributable to the touring industry across all 50 states.

  When the pandemic brought live performances to a screeching halt for much of 2020 and into 2021, APAP successfully rallied its members to provide national leaders with a clear vision of the devastating impact on the live arts and by extension the far-reaching social and economic value they have on communities. This directly led to $16 billion in federal funding as part of the coronavirus relief package passed in December 2023.     APAP’s ArtsForward program awarded $2.065 million in 47 grants of $35,000 and $50,000 to APAP presenting organizations working in partnership with an artist or ensemble. These grants fueled equitable collaborations between APAP presenter members and partnering artists/ensembles at a critical time immediately post-pandemic.    As part of the Fix the Tix coalition, APAP has endorsed the bi-partisan Fans First Act introduced by Senators Amy Klobuchar and John Cornyn on December 7, 2023. The Fans First Act seeks to fix predatory and deceptive ticketing practices by secondary resellers that are having a profound negative impact on artists, consumers, and presenting organizations.   Addressing Critical Issues Facing the Performing Arts in 2024 and Beyond:   Race equity, diversity, and arts compensation are among the major social issues that will be in focus at APAP|NYC 2024. These are issues that the APAP addresses throughout the calendar year and well beyond the conference itself. APAP|NYC 2024 will also address key issues of a performing arts industry that is still in the midst of recovery from the global pandemic. 
Among the many seminars and panel discussions:  

• “Are the Arts Essential?” Jeffrey Brown of PBS Newshour will moderate this seminar with panelists Zeyba Rahman (Duke Foundation), Jesse Rosen (League of American Orchestras), Mary Schmidt Campbell (NYU and Spelman College). Brown and the participants are all contributors to the acclaimed 2022 book of the same title. Sunday, January 14, 9:30-10:45 a.m. 

• “The Future Impact of AI on Presenting and Touring” will discuss both the opportunities and potential setbacks that Artificial Intelligence presents in the field. Saturday, January 13, 10:00-10:50 a.m.

• “New Data on Audience Participation: What We May Be Missing” will provide insights into shifting values and expectations among demographic groups and their arts attendance. Saturday, January 13, 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

• “Arts Compensation: New Data and Applications” highlights to date and feature case studies on how participants and colleagues are using arts compensation data locally and regionally to advocate successfully for systems change. Sunday, January 14, 2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

• The MLK Day “Mentor for a Moment” Service Project will bring together students and early-career performing arts professionals along with seasoned APAP members in an enriching intergenerational exchange of insights and knowledge. Monday, January 15, 2024, from 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.  

  About the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP)   APAP, the Association of Performing Arts Professionals is the national service, advocacy and membership organization dedicated to developing and supporting a robust, performing arts presenting, booking, and touring field and the professionals who work within it. Our 1,700 national and international members represent leading performing arts centers, artist agencies, managers, touring companies, and performing artists. APAP is the producer of the annual APAP|NYC conference (apapnyc.org)—the world’s leading gathering and marketplace for the performing arts—and is an industry leader, providing year-round resources, programming, and services.  

APAP|NYC is a founding partner of JanArtsNYC, the annual convergence of world-class public festivals and innovative industry gatherings taking place throughout the month of January at various NYC venues, supported by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.