The purpose of the annual Arts Conference is to create an intellectual frame of reference for the arts and arts practices, and to create an interdisciplinary conversation on the role of the arts in society. It is intended as a place for critical engagement, examination, and experimentation of ideas that connect the arts to their contexts in the world, on stage, in museums and galleries, on the streets, and in communities. The theme of this year’s Conference is Art and Education. Its scope is deliberately broad and ambitious. Our times demand nothing less than cross-disciplinary and holistic approaches. The breadth of the conference and its accompanying journal, however, are without prejudice to finely grained discussion of the specific, the local, and the grounded practices. All papers will be eligible for publication consideration in the International Journal of the Arts in Society. The conference provides a venue and a framework for the arts and art practices that can be situated within the context of international art expositions, festivals and biennials as a concurrent, yet integrated, event. In this way, the Arts Conference serves as a node in the larger fair and festival phenomenon and network.