The National Art Education Association is a professional organization for visual arts educators, which was founded in 1947 as the result of a merger between the Western, Pacific, Southeastern, and Eastern Region Art Associations, along with the National Education Association's art department. NAEA's mission is to advance visual arts education to fulfill human potential and promote global understanding. The collection contains records from both NAEA and the organizations that came together to form the group in the 1947 merger.

In the early twentieth century, small, county-based art education affiliates of the Pennsylvania State Education Association unified to pursue goals specifically related to art education through a separate, specialized organization: the Pennsylvania Art Education Association. This collection contains their organizational records.

The Pennsylvania Alliance for Arts Education was founded in 1973 to coordinate statewide arts education organizations. In 1982, it was reorganized as a privately and publicly funded arts advocacy organization. This collection contains the organizations from both periods.