Arts Management

This introductory survey provides an overview of creative industries and management theory and principles common in both the nonprofit and commercial sectors, preparing students for upper-level courses in the arts management program. Topics include history of arts management, arts and creativity, leadership and management, business structures, programming, marketing, funding, finance and budgeting, arts advocacy, activism and social justice.

Credits: 4

A student-centered course in which teams collaborate to explore the creative process by envisioning a nonprofit performing or visual arts organization, conceiving it from mission statement to the first body of work. As projects progress, students develop innovative and critical thinking skills while applying basic principles of arts management to sustain their ventures in today’s cultural environment.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: AMG1100 Or CAM1100

To do more than survive in a competitive economy, artists and their managers must learn business strategies for the financial side of their profession. Students are introduced to the basics of budgets, financial management, and accounting concepts that translate into usable information with practical significance for financial decision-making.

Credits: 4

The ability to communicate effectively is frequently ranked by business leaders worldwide as the most important skill for achieving success. This course develops the written, presentation, and interpersonal skills needed to advance career and business objectives in arts management. Assignments build familiarity and practice in internal and external communication tools and tactics common for informing, engaging, and influencing diverse stakeholders.

Credits: 3

PREREQ: AMG1100

Communicating the power of the arts to enhance the lives of individuals and transform communities is central to the success of artists, arts managers, and arts educators. Students explore U.S. cultural policy, law, social values, and market forces affecting the arts and entertainment industry as they develop a theoretical framework and advocacy skills to support arts participation as a fundamental human right.

Credits: 3

PREREQ: AMG1100 Or CAM1100

In this service-learning course, students design, plan, implement, and manage a mentoring program in art education for middle or high school students. Activities include designing and developing a curriculum, creating and curating artwork, and managing and evaluating the program. Includes an eight-week residency at a local middle or high school, culminating with a public presentation of artwork created by the students.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: AMG1100

A study of fundraising and philanthropy for the nonprofit sector, which includes soliciting charitable donations from individuals and seeking grants, and capital formation for commercial entities, which includes issues of self-financing, bank loans, and investors. Focusing on relationship fundraising and research techniques for identifying prospects, this course also explores the rapidly expanding world of crowdfunding and digital fundraising.

Credits: 3

Covers accounting principles, procedures, and internal controls; forecasting, balance-sheet analysis, and budgeting procedures; financial reporting for both nonprofit and commercial entities; and the development of pro forma budgets for start-up enterprises.

Credits: 3

PREREQ: AMG2200

What a creative entrepreneur wants to achieve and how to achieve it are fundamental questions at the heart of strategic planning. This course covers a survey of the theory and practice of planning and evaluation, with topics including: the development of critical issues, goals, and strategies; outcomes research planning; protocol development; and strategic planning from individuals, companies, and cities.

Credits: 3

The most successful arts-based enterprises require collaborations with public and private sectors in diverse fields, including healthcare, education, community development, and social justice. To find relevance in an increasingly competitive world that demands evidence and results, students learn how to structure projects that transcend the insular art world and strengthen the places where people live, work, and play.

Credits: 3

An introduction to fund development for growing and sustaining businesses in the arts. Topics include prospect research, proposal development, special events, corporate sponsorship, capitalization, and internet-based fundraising. Students also examine the history of U.S. arts and cultural philanthropy. Guest speakers and/or case studies give students an opportunity to apply concepts and techniques to real-world arts organizations.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: (AMG1100 Or CAM1100 ) And (AMG2200 Or ECO2085 )

How does someone become a grassroots indie producer? Students learn what it takes to produce their own work for film, theatre, and web-based projects. Topics include building and maintaining healthy collaborations, pitching a script, cultivating investors, casting/staffing, budgeting, marketing, outreach and strategic communications, audience development, distribution, festivals, and crowd-funding platforms. Guest producers share their trade secrets for success.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: AMG1100

An introduction to fundamental legal and business concepts that affect artists and arts managers, with an emphasis on copyright protection and infringement. Students learn the basics of copyright and contract law, analyzing both contracts and case law relevant to the creative industries. Additional course topics include privacy, defamation, moral rights, and free speech protection.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: AMG1100 Or CAM1100

Exploring the exhibition within new museology, this course introduces students to key concepts and practices in museums and non-profit visual art venues. Focusing in particular on exhibition history and interpretation, students will explore what is means to be “exhibition literate” and how meaning is inscribed onto museum objects.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: AMG1100

Provides students with an understanding of the occupations and career paths associated with managing creative artists, structures and processes in talent management, and strategies for developing and maintaining an artist/manager business relationship. Geared toward students with an interest in launching an agency or working within an existing firm, and toward individual artists with an interest in self-management.

Credits: 3

PREREQ: AMG1100 And AMG3170

Provides an overview of fundamental concepts and strategies necessary to build diverse audiences for a variety of arts experience. Topics include market research, audience segmentation, and application of the “4 P’s” of marketing strategy in an arts context. Students develop the knowledge and communication skills to conceive, develop and report a strategic plan to promote an arts event or business.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: AMG1100 Or CAM1100

Students learn the fundamentals of operating commercial art galleries, including curating, artist contracts, and developing client relationships. Additional topics include connoisseurship, detecting fakes in the secondary (antique) art market, and the current regimen of high-profile art fairs. Texts, class discussions, and practical assignments are applicable to a wide variety of visual arts–based careers.

Credits: 3

Offers an in-depth introduction to curatorial practice and examines the art of exhibition creation from a cultural, theoretical, and pragmatic perspective. Students study the historical and cultural trajectory of curators-as-connoisseurs in Western societies and current practices and trends in art museum curatorship.

Credits: 3

Provides students with an introduction to planning for an arts business or arts project. Topics include management theories, leadership styles and principles, business structures and strategies, and financial management. Students review examples of professional business plans and conceive, develop and complete a plan throughout the semester.

Credits: 4

PREREQ: (AMG1100 Or CAM1100 ) And (AMG2085 Or ECO2085 And AMG2200 ) And (AMG3100 And AMG3520 )

Social media is integral to effective business communication and marketing. Students develop and analyze social media strategies, content and campaigns while gaining a better understanding of how to build individual and organizational brands utilizing social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. Other topics include influencer campaigns, budgeting, analytics, and split testing.

Credits: 4

Prepares students to complete their Senior Projects in Arts Management through the exploration and application of various research methods and tools of analysis, and by strengthening research and writing skills. Students develop a Senior Project topic relevant to the creative industries and practitioners, learn how to assess its viability, and design a research plan.

Credits: 2

PREREQ: (AMG1100 Or CAM1100 ) And AMG2200 And AMG2300

Using a hands-on approach, this course explores digital marketing campaigns in the arts. Topics include Facebook, Twitter, blogging, microblogging, video and photo sharing, search engine optimization (SEO), mobile/location-based platforms, virtual realities, and social media integration, strategies, and tactics. Viral theories, trends, and case studies are also explored.

Credits: 3

PREREQ: AMG1100

The most successful arts-based enterprises require collaborations with public and private sectors in diverse fields, including healthcare, education, community development, and social justice. To find relevance in an increasingly competitive world that demands evidence and results, students learn how to structure projects that transcend the insular art world and strengthen the places where people live, work, and play.

Credits: 3

PREREQ: AMG1100

Audiences are increasingly seeking creative experiences that are multi-disciplinary, thematically constructed, actively engaging and convenient. Students explore the curatorial process for the live performing arts across the non-profit and commercial sectors. Resources, internal and external factors and strategies that guide artistic planning are among topics examined and applied to a range of real-world scenarios and projects.

Credits: 4

A survey course that reviews economic and financial aspects of the film, music, performing arts, sports, radio, and broadcasting industries.

Credits: 4

Examines U.S. copyright law as it relates to the practice and management of the arts. Students gain a concrete understanding of the rules and regulations that govern the protection of creative work, while exploring broader questions of cultural policy. Content and assignments cover use and applications of copyright in music, visual art, dance, literature, video games, fashion, and social media.

Credits: 3