As a central hub for knowledge in the field, AAAE supports arts administration education faculty and programs through scholarship, practice, and professional development. The organization advocates for the vital role of arts administration in a thriving society and champions the discipline as both a profession and a critical component of the cultural ecosystem.

The central in-person activity of AAAE is the annual Conference. Each year arts managers across the nation come together to engage with one another, hear from thought leaders in the field, and explore emerging academic and practical arts administration issues.
Other ongoing programs include:
Mentorship Program – this is an year round individualized guidance uplifting the careers of emerging arts managers. It takes place in a hybrid format.

EDI fellowship – AAAE’s annual EDI Fellowship provides groundbreaking investigation at the intersection of equity and arts management for students (so far ages 19-24 years old and 20 % white, 80% BIPOC served)

Professional Development Series, aimed at supporting both emerging and established arts administrators through conversations on Internships in Arts administration, Publishing in Arts Administration, PhD in Arts Administration, Financial Management for Arts Management etc.

Research Series taking place visually feature cutting edge research and bridges the theory and practice. We present research that informs arts programming and research based on real life arts management cases and scenarios.

In addition, the organization serves the field through a variety of resources, including a searchable index of theses and other scholarship from member programs, alumni services, and the development of authoritative materials such as program standards and tenure standards. AAAE has a pioneering role in upgrading the Upgrading the Standards with EDI lens and creating EDI resource library.