Arts organizations established in 1981

The Oxford University Film Foundation (originally a charity registered as the Oxford Film Foundation) is the principal funding body and provider of film equipment for the many independent films made by students in Oxford, England. It provides a platform for showcasing student-made films via termly screenings and hosts other film-related events throughout the year, including talks from industry professionals and filmmaking workshops.

MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists known internationally for presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty. For 30 years, MOMIX has been celebrated for its ability to conjure up a world of surrealistic images using props, light, shadow, humor and the human body. Under the direction of founder Moses Pendleton, MOMIX has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, France, Germany, Russia, Denmark, England, Austria, Ireland, Holland, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. The company's Associate Director, Cynthia Quinn, has danced with the company since the mid-1980s. In addition to its artistic distinctiveness, Momix is unusual among contemporary dance companies for being a for-profit organization, for being based in Washington, Connecticut, in the state's rural northwest, and for being named after a feed supplement for veal calves. The name also suggests 'a mixture of things by Moses.'

Cross-Cultural Dance Resources (CCDR) is a non-profit dance research organization in the United States, formed in 1981 and based in Tempe, Arizona. It maintains a non-lending library devoted to the study of dance, with over 15,000 shelved items plus the archives of Eleanor King, Gertrude Prokosch Kurath and Joann Kealiinohomoku. The organization also produces the CCDR Newsletter (ISSN 1069-7241), which is issued twice per year and provides information on dance research, news, and upcoming events. In 2000, the organization was recognized for a special preservation award by the Dance Heritage Coalition, as well as being recognized by the White House Millennium Council, as part of "Save America's Treasures".

The American Cinematheque is an independent, nonprofit cultural organization in Los Angeles dedicated exclusively to the public presentation of the moving image in all its forms.

The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi (Gujarati: ગુજરાત સાહિત્ય અકાદમી) or Gujarat Sahitya Academy, established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in Gujarat, India and their literature. Gujarati, an official language of Gujarat, is one of them; the others are Hindi, Sanskrit, Kutchi, Sindhi and Urdu. As of 2017, Vishnu Pandya is the chairman of the Akademi.

Amakhosi Theatre Productions (also known as Amakhosi Academy of Performing Arts) is a Zimbabwean theatre company based at the Amakhosi Township Square Cultural Centre in Makokoba township, Bulawayo. The company was established under its current name in 1981 by Cont Mhlanga, and has since become an influential cultural institution in Zimbabwe, playing a role not only in stimulating the performance arts scene, but also in examining critical issues in politics, health, women's rights and development with urban and rural communities through a method of active audience engagement.

Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts is located in the Old Market Historic District of downtown Omaha, Nebraska, at the corner of 12th Street and Leavenworth Street. In addition to an international artist-in-residence program, Bemis Center hosts temporary exhibitions and commissions and public programs which are free and open to the public.

The Ucross Foundation, located in Ucross, Wyoming, is a nonprofit organization that operates an internationally known retreat for visual artists, writers, composers, and choreographers working in all creative disciplines.

The Lake County Arts Council is the official arts council for Lake County, California, USA, founded in 1981. It runs under the California Arts Council (CAC).

iO, or iO Chicago, (formerly known as "ImprovOlympic") is an improv theater and training center in central Chicago, with a former branch in Los Angeles called iO West and in Raleigh, North Carolina called iO South. The theater teaches and hosts performances of improvisational comedy. It was founded in 1981 by Del Close and Charna Halpern. The theater has many notable alumni, including Amy Poehler and Stephen Colbert.