Arts administration
Encyclopedia
Arts Administration is the business end of an arts
organization responsible for facilitating the day-to-day operation of the organization
and fulfilling its mission. An arts organization includes professional for-profit (e.g., auction houses, art galleries, music presenting companies, etc.) and many smaller professional and nonprofessional 501 (c) not-for-profit, arts related businesses (e.g., theaters, museums, jazz, opera, and ballet organizations). The general duties of an arts administrator can include staff management, marketing, managing budgets, public relations, fundraising, program development and evaluation and board relations.
companies, community arts organizations, disability arts organizations and local authorities."
An arts administrator in a small organization may do marketing
, event booking, and handle financial issues. An arts administrator for a larger arts organization may be responsible for buildings and facilities, creative staff (e.g., performers/artists), other administrative staff, public relations
, marketing, and writing reports.
A senior level-arts administrator may advise the Board of Directors
or other senior managers on "strategic planning and management decisions. An effective arts administrator must also be knowledgeable in local, state and federal public policy
as it relates to human resources
, health insurance
, labor laws and volunteer risk management."
Some notable professionals in the field include Philippe de Montebello
, curator of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art
from 1977-2008. On his retirement, he was both the longest-serving director in the institution's history, and the longest-serving director of any major art museum in the world. Michael Maddox
co-founded the Bolshoi Theatre
in Moscow, home to Bolshoi Ballet
and Bolshoi Opera who are amongst the oldest and grandest ballet and opera companies in the world. Another notable figure in arts administration is John Lane of John Lane's Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine. Lane acquired the playhouse in 1950 and successfully ran the organization, still considered to be "America's foremost summer theatre," until his retirement in 1994. The website is found at www.ogunquitplayhouse.org
, business administration, arts law, and management
. Indeed, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the arts administration program is a specialization within the Master of Business Administration
(MBA) program. The MA in Arts Administration program at Columbia University is the only program that ties together curriculum elements from public and private managements/administration, law, and business and finance at an ivy league university. Many arts administration programs include a practicum in which the student volunteers or works in an arts or cultural organization to gain practical experience. Arts administration programs began in the 1970s at several schools, after meetings with the National Endowment for the Arts on the question of how the next generations of arts leaders would be educated.
At some universities, similar programs are called arts management (e.g. American University) or arts leadership (e.g. DePaul University). Universities such as American, Wisconsin and Indiana, among many others, offer programs to students in all arts disciplines, while others, such as DePaul, specialize in one discipline (in DePaul's case, theatre). The Master's degree at some schools is an MBA, while other universities offer MFA, MA, and MPA degrees, largely depending on where the program is housed. At American University, the program is physically located in the new multidisciplinary arts center and the curriculum and faculty are part of the Department of Performing Arts. At Indiana University, the program is housed in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The atmosphere of these programs differs, though the curricula are similar. Variances between programs often revolve around the centrality of arts in the curriculum, on one end of the continuum, and the centrality of business skills, on the other end of that continuum. Other programs, such as Ohio State, Indiana, and (increasingly) American, are strongly rooted in cultural policy. Most programs require two years in residence, though Drexel and Goucher offer online options. Some programs offer dual-degrees.
One example of a dual-degree Master's degree arts administration program, one that combines a Master of Arts degree (MA) in arts administration with a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA), is the program offered by the University of Cincinnati in conjunction with the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. The UC/CCM Graduate Arts Administration Program, like most others, exists to prepare and train students to become successful CEOs and senior managers of nonprofit arts and cultural institutions. The philosophy and structure of the program reflects the understanding that sound business training and practical, real-world exposure to the field are both essential qualities of a successful arts administrator. More information can be found at the following link, www.ArtsAdminMBA.com.
Other programs may be joint offerings of two colleges within the same university, building upon the relative strengths of each college. Carnegie Mellon's Master of Arts Management (MAM) Program is one example; it is a collaborative effort of the College of Fine Arts and the School of Public Policy and Management in the Heinz College. Heinz College provides the core management coursework and the College of Fine Arts support the MAM Program with coursework specific to leading not-for-profit arts and culture institutions. Another example is the two-year MA/MBA program at Southern Methodist University
, offering a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from the Meadows School of the Arts and a Master of Business Administration from the Cox School of Business.
Several universities offer concentrations in media (film, television, music, new media, etc.) management: Drexel University, Carnegie Mellon and Columbia College Chicago, among others. Carnegie Mellon offers a separate degree in film/television management. New York University's MA in Arts Administration program allows students to choose a visual arts or a performing arts focus.
Increasingly, the AAAE (Association of Arts Administration Educators) membership has become more interested and proactive in responding to key issues in the arts and in offering help to arts organizations on management, policy, governance, fund development, and financial issues. As a result of this new commitment, research in the program is growing in both amount and quality.
Further examples and information about arts administration programs can found at the Association of Arts Administration Educators website, www.artsadministration.org
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
organization responsible for facilitating the day-to-day operation of the organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
and fulfilling its mission. An arts organization includes professional for-profit (e.g., auction houses, art galleries, music presenting companies, etc.) and many smaller professional and nonprofessional 501 (c) not-for-profit, arts related businesses (e.g., theaters, museums, jazz, opera, and ballet organizations). The general duties of an arts administrator can include staff management, marketing, managing budgets, public relations, fundraising, program development and evaluation and board relations.
Arts Administrators
Arts administrators work for arts and cultural organizations such as theatres, "...art galleries, museums, arts festivals, arts centers, arts councils, regional arts boards, danceDance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
companies, community arts organizations, disability arts organizations and local authorities."
An arts administrator in a small organization may do marketing
Marketing
Marketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
, event booking, and handle financial issues. An arts administrator for a larger arts organization may be responsible for buildings and facilities, creative staff (e.g., performers/artists), other administrative staff, public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
, marketing, and writing reports.
A senior level-arts administrator may advise the Board of Directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
or other senior managers on "strategic planning and management decisions. An effective arts administrator must also be knowledgeable in local, state and federal public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
as it relates to human resources
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
, health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...
, labor laws and volunteer risk management."
Some notable professionals in the field include Philippe de Montebello
Philippe de Montebello
Philippe de Montebello served from 1977 to 2008 as the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. On his retirement, he was both the longest-serving director in the institution's history, and the longest-serving director of any major art museum in the world...
, curator of New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
from 1977-2008. On his retirement, he was both the longest-serving director in the institution's history, and the longest-serving director of any major art museum in the world. Michael Maddox
Michael Maddox
Michael Maddox was an English entrepreneur and theatre manager active in Imperial Russia...
co-founded the Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
in Moscow, home to Bolshoi Ballet
Bolshoi Ballet
The Bolshoi Ballet is an internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1776, the Bolshoi is among the world's oldest ballet companies, however it only achieved worldwide acclaim by the early 20th century, when Moscow became the...
and Bolshoi Opera who are amongst the oldest and grandest ballet and opera companies in the world. Another notable figure in arts administration is John Lane of John Lane's Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine. Lane acquired the playhouse in 1950 and successfully ran the organization, still considered to be "America's foremost summer theatre," until his retirement in 1994. The website is found at www.ogunquitplayhouse.org
Issues in Arts Administration
Like any business, arts organizations must work within changing external and internal environments. External changes can include cultural, social, demographic, economic, political, legal and technological. Internal changes can include audience, membership, Board of Directors, personnel, facilities, growth, and financial. Another change that must be taken into consideration is the growing need for technology-based marketing programs (i.e.: social media) in order for the organization to change with the times and bring younger visitor and member pools into the organization. Although a good arts administrator constantly monitors and manages change, he must also remain aware of the overall direction and mood of the organization while helping people do their day-to-day jobs. Arts organizations, as part of the economic system, experience the effects of the expansion and contractions in the local , regional, national and world economy. Many arts organizations struggle in difficult economic times. There are assistance programs specifically for arts and cultural organizations such as artsincrisis.org which is designed to provide planning assistance and consulting to struggling arts organizations throughout the United States.Academic programs
Arts administration programs are available at a number of universities and colleges in the US, the UK, Canada and Australia. Some academic units offer certificate programs for practitioners seeking continuing education or professional development education. While programs in arts administration draw on many elements of related administration fields, such as business administration, they also include specialized courses on administering non-profit art and cultural organizations. Arts administration programs award a range of credentials, including certificates and diplomas, Bachelor's degrees, and Master's degrees. These programs usually blend curriculum elements from existing administration programs such as public administrationPublic administration
Public Administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a "field of inquiry with a diverse scope" its "fundamental goal.....
, business administration, arts law, and management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
. Indeed, at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, the arts administration program is a specialization within the Master of Business Administration
Master of Business Administration
The Master of Business Administration is a :master's degree in business administration, which attracts people from a wide range of academic disciplines. The MBA designation originated in the United States, emerging from the late 19th century as the country industrialized and companies sought out...
(MBA) program. The MA in Arts Administration program at Columbia University is the only program that ties together curriculum elements from public and private managements/administration, law, and business and finance at an ivy league university. Many arts administration programs include a practicum in which the student volunteers or works in an arts or cultural organization to gain practical experience. Arts administration programs began in the 1970s at several schools, after meetings with the National Endowment for the Arts on the question of how the next generations of arts leaders would be educated.
At some universities, similar programs are called arts management (e.g. American University) or arts leadership (e.g. DePaul University). Universities such as American, Wisconsin and Indiana, among many others, offer programs to students in all arts disciplines, while others, such as DePaul, specialize in one discipline (in DePaul's case, theatre). The Master's degree at some schools is an MBA, while other universities offer MFA, MA, and MPA degrees, largely depending on where the program is housed. At American University, the program is physically located in the new multidisciplinary arts center and the curriculum and faculty are part of the Department of Performing Arts. At Indiana University, the program is housed in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The atmosphere of these programs differs, though the curricula are similar. Variances between programs often revolve around the centrality of arts in the curriculum, on one end of the continuum, and the centrality of business skills, on the other end of that continuum. Other programs, such as Ohio State, Indiana, and (increasingly) American, are strongly rooted in cultural policy. Most programs require two years in residence, though Drexel and Goucher offer online options. Some programs offer dual-degrees.
One example of a dual-degree Master's degree arts administration program, one that combines a Master of Arts degree (MA) in arts administration with a Master of Business Administration degree (MBA), is the program offered by the University of Cincinnati in conjunction with the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. The UC/CCM Graduate Arts Administration Program, like most others, exists to prepare and train students to become successful CEOs and senior managers of nonprofit arts and cultural institutions. The philosophy and structure of the program reflects the understanding that sound business training and practical, real-world exposure to the field are both essential qualities of a successful arts administrator. More information can be found at the following link, www.ArtsAdminMBA.com.
Other programs may be joint offerings of two colleges within the same university, building upon the relative strengths of each college. Carnegie Mellon's Master of Arts Management (MAM) Program is one example; it is a collaborative effort of the College of Fine Arts and the School of Public Policy and Management in the Heinz College. Heinz College provides the core management coursework and the College of Fine Arts support the MAM Program with coursework specific to leading not-for-profit arts and culture institutions. Another example is the two-year MA/MBA program at Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, offering a Master of Arts in Arts Administration from the Meadows School of the Arts and a Master of Business Administration from the Cox School of Business.
Several universities offer concentrations in media (film, television, music, new media, etc.) management: Drexel University, Carnegie Mellon and Columbia College Chicago, among others. Carnegie Mellon offers a separate degree in film/television management. New York University's MA in Arts Administration program allows students to choose a visual arts or a performing arts focus.
Increasingly, the AAAE (Association of Arts Administration Educators) membership has become more interested and proactive in responding to key issues in the arts and in offering help to arts organizations on management, policy, governance, fund development, and financial issues. As a result of this new commitment, research in the program is growing in both amount and quality.
Further examples and information about arts administration programs can found at the Association of Arts Administration Educators website, www.artsadministration.org
External links
- Arts Management Network International information service for arts administration.
- Association of Arts Administration Educators An international association of degree-granting programs in arts and cultural management.
- European Network of Cultural Administration Training Centres
- Warwick University, UK. MA in Creative and Media Enterprises - MA in International Cultural Policy and Management
- Birkbeck, University of London, UK. MA, MPhil, PhD Arts Policy and Management.
- King's College, University of London, UK. MA Cultural and Creative Industries.
- City University, London, UK. MA Cultural Leadership.
- City University, London, UK. MA Culture, Policy and Management.
- Birkbeck, University of London, UK. MA Arts Business.
- Managing Performance & Entrepreneurship, University of Leeds UK. BA
- MA in Entrepreneurship in Culture and Creative sectors, University of Leeds UK. MA
- University of New Orleans Graduate program in Arts Administration
- Arts and Administration Program, University of Oregon MA, MS, PhD
- School of Art History and Cultural Policy, University College Dublin, Ireland MA, MLitt and PhD in Arts Management and Cultural Policy.