Hurricane Agnes brought severe flooding to communities across the Northeast, including the Corning and Elmira area of New York.

Craft Emergency Relief Fund was founded by craft artists who recognized a gap in support for artists experiencing individual emergencies.

Hurricane Hugo caused extensive damage in South Carolina and other parts of the Southeast.

Hurricane Andrew devastated parts of Florida in 1992.

The Columbine High School shooting became a major national tragedy.

Alliance for Response was launched to help cultural heritage organizations build relationships with local emergency-management and first-response communities before disaster strikes.

In 2006, Americans for the Arts and the Craft Emergency Relief Fund convened partners to address a persistent gap in disaster relief: individual artists often fell through the cracks of existing systems.

ArtsReady launched as a preparedness and business-continuity resource for arts and cultural organizations. The platform helped organizations assess risk, develop continuity strategies, and strengthen readiness before emergencies occur.

The shooting of Michael Brown and the protests and unrest that followed in Ferguson became a major national moment.

Performing Arts Readiness launched to strengthen emergency preparedness and organizational resilience across the performing arts.

Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, causing widespread infrastructure failure and long-term disruption.

A major tornado outbreak across the southern United States and Ohio Valley is included as a context marker showing the increasing range of disasters affecting communities and cultural organizations.

Record-setting heat across the western United States affected public health, infrastructure, outdoor events, facilities, workers, and community programming.

Wildfires in eastern Washington affected populated areas and reinforced the need for arts and cultural organizations to prepare for smoke, evacuation, facility closure, transportation disruption, and direct fire impacts.

Hurricane Ian caused extensive damage in Florida and affected communities across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic.

In 2022, dPlan and ArtsReady were brought together into a single online preparedness resource. The integration made it easier for organizations to assess risk, develop plans, and use continuity and emergency-preparedness tools within one coordinated platform.

The National Endowment for the Arts created a position within its State and Regional Partnerships team with responsibility for disaster readiness, response, and recovery for the arts sector.

FEMA changed Individual Assistance policies so that artists and other self-employed individuals can request funding for tools and equipment lost or damaged in a federally declared disaster.

Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused major destruction across the Southeast, with especially severe impacts on arts communities in Western North Carolina.

Performing Arts Readiness sunset as a standalone project, and NCAPER brought PAR assets into its broader suite of preparedness and resilience programs.

Heritage Preservation was created to help preserve the nation's cultural heritage through leadership, education, programs, and resources.

The Loma Prieta earthquake caused widespread damage across the San Francisco Bay Area. Within the arts and culture field, the disaster helped demonstrate the need for coordinated philanthropic and institutional response.

The Jazz Foundation of America and MusiCares were founded in 1989. Their emergence reflects a broader growth in organizations able to provide direct support to artists and music professionals facing personal, financial, health, or emergency-related crises.

The Northridge earthquake caused extensive damage across the Los Angeles region.

The attacks of September 11 led to major response, relief, and recovery efforts by public and private funders.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused widespread displacement and catastrophic damage across Gulf Coast communities, including cultural organizations, historic places, studios, collections, and the livelihoods of individual artists.

The 2011 Joplin tornado caused catastrophic loss of life and extensive destruction.

Hurricane Sandy caused widespread damage across the East Coast, affecting cultural organizations, historic sites, studios, collections, and creative communities.

Heritage Preservation dissolved in 2015.

Hurricane Harvey caused catastrophic flooding across Texas and Louisiana, including areas with significant arts venues and cultural activity.

The University of Kentucky Department of Arts Administration launched a full-semester Arts Emergency Management course as part of its master's program.

Extreme cold, ice, and widespread power and water failures affected communities across Texas.

The Marshall Fire destroyed homes, businesses, studios, and cultural resources in Colorado.

Catastrophic flooding in eastern Kentucky damaged communities, homes, businesses, and cultural activity.

The school shooting in Uvalde caused profound community trauma.

The Maui wildfires, including the destruction in Lahaina, caused catastrophic loss of life, homes, businesses, historic places, and cultural resources.

Rapid Impact Assessment forms were introduced as a way to gather early information about disaster impacts on artists and cultural organizations.

The University of Kentucky Department of Arts Administration launched the nation's first undergraduate and graduate certificates in Arts Emergency Management.

Destructive wildfires in and around Los Angeles County affected artists, arts organizations, cultural facilities, neighborhoods, and creative livelihoods.