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).[1] The general duties of an arts administrator can include staff management, marketing, managing budgets, public relations, fundraising, program development and evaluation and board relations.
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Arts administrators work for arts and cultural organizations such as theatres, "...art galleries, museums, arts festivals, arts centers, arts councils, regional arts boards, dance companies, community arts organizations, disability arts organizations and local authorities."[2]
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."[2]
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
Like any business, arts organizations must work within changing external and internal environments.[3] 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.[4] Arts organizations, as part of the economic system, experience the effects of the expansion and contractions in the local , regional, national and world economy.[5] 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.
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 administration, 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