Sponsors of the series include: Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, New York State Council on the Arts, Bloomberg, National Endowment for the Arts, The Weinstein Company, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, The Coca-Cola Company, Fox Searchlight Pictures, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Rosalind P. Walter.
Premiering a new season every two years, Art:21 is the only series on United States television to focus exclusively on contemporary visual art and artists.
Each season is separated into episodes by themes. Each theme showcases artists that fit into that niche in some fashion.
It premiered in 2001, and is now broadcast in over 50 countries worldwide.
Their overall goal of the series is to raise the profile of major players in the world of contemporary art and to encourage creativity.