The visual arts are not a homogeneous sector. The visual arts exist in many forms, take place in a variety of locations, and cater to different audiences, yet our interests often overlap. The Alliance for the Visual Arts is a consortium of national visual, media, and craft arts service organizations that builds on the shared interests of our sector, not to avoid conflict but to avoid getting bogged down in it. The relationships that are forged among our members through regular, face-to-face meetings allows our group to shed light on how artists learn, practice and earn a living, how the art market functions, how audiences connect with contemporary art and how this knowledge can inform policy.