麻豆原创

Several years ago, when Teachers College asked departments to explore making their academic programs affordable for a more diverse range of students, , Director of the College鈥檚 Program in Arts Administration (ARAD) needed no prodding.

ARAD boasts more than 700 ARAD graduates worldwide, with recent alumni working at institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum, Deutsche Bank, the Jewish Museum, Facebook, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Carnegie Hall. But for Lena 鈥� now Associate Professor of Arts Administration 鈥� rethinking ARAD was about more than bolstering its reputation or boosting enrollment. Rather, it was an opportunity to remake a field long under-valued and highlight its special relevance in a time when diversity increasingly characterizes and divides the nation.

鈥淔or 200 years, arts administration has been seen as a women鈥檚 avocation 鈥� akin to what, in the 1970s, was called an 鈥楳RS Degree,鈥� which was a very sexist expression for rich women going to college to find a husband,鈥� Lena says. 鈥淏ut arts administrators aren鈥檛 dabblers. They鈥檙e responsible for identifying what is most beautiful and significant in our culture. So an arts administration program, by definition, must be more than a fancy finishing school. It has to prepare people to be on the front lines of how this nation recognizes itself in its art. And while right now the professional staff of arts organizations are predominantly White and upper middle-class, increasingly, the art that鈥檚 in demand is made by people who are very different than that. So we need people who are as diverse as this country 鈥� a new generation of changemakers and leaders who also are excellent managers, because these are very challenging times.鈥�

 

鈥淎n arts administration program, by definition, must be more than a fancy finishing school. It has to prepare people to be on the front lines of how this nation recognizes itself in its art. So we need people who are as diverse as this country 鈥� a new generation of changemakers and leaders who also are excellent managers, because these are very challenging times.鈥�

鈥� Jennifer Lena, Associate Professor of Arts Administration

Real-World Focus

Fall 2021 will mark the launch of a revamped 48-credit ARAD master鈥檚 degree program that showcases the fruits of work by Lena, Gemma Mangione, ARAD Program Director & Lecturer, and Katarina Wong, Program Manager. The effort has included extensive benchmarking against peer programs, systematic review of surveys of ARAD students over five years, and a stakeholder analysis of alumni and current faculty.

The makeover鈥檚 headline is a 20 percent drop in tuition cost, enabled by a reduced course load and lower credit threshold 鈥� but it also provides even better preparation for today鈥檚 arts scene and the current job market.

鈥淏y taking fewer courses, our students will have more extracurricular time to prepare for the informal requirements of an arts administrators鈥� job,鈥� Lena says. 鈥淭hey can complete all their work at the highest standards while participating in the New York City arts scene. Instead of doing homework at home, their homework will be seeing a show or going to a gallery. Pedagogically that鈥檚 really important.鈥�

That same shift in emphasis will extend to the summer, when ARAD students often had to take summer courses in order to meet their degree requirements, but will now have more time for 鈥渋nternships that are extensions of the classroom in the fullest sense.鈥�

鈥淥ther arts administration programs leave internships to the student to figure out, but we talk to them about their internship objectives from the beginning, and we鈥檙e with them every step of the way,鈥� Lena says.

Another important part of the new program is a focus on data literacy.

鈥淪tudents come in and learn to make sense of information and data about the world. For example, sales data or audience surveys or analysis of themes in shows, or streaming data from online courses. Because that鈥檚 the world of the arts now 鈥� generating information to reach qualitative targets.鈥� 

鈥� Jennifer Lena, Associate Professor of Arts Administration

鈥淪tudents come in and learn to make sense of information and data about the world,鈥� Lena says. 鈥淔or example, sales data or audience surveys or analysis of themes in shows, or streaming data from online courses. Because that鈥檚 the world of the arts now 鈥� generating information to reach qualitative targets.鈥�

Stronger data skills also are applicable to other industries,鈥� Lena adds. 鈥淲e train them in that critical capacity, and then a career at, say, Spotify might open up.鈥�

The new program also allows 麻豆原创 students to use their electives to take courses in other departments across the College and at other Columbia institutions. 鈥淭he interdisciplinarity of the degree is really important,鈥� says Lena, who holds a courtesy appointment in Columbia University鈥檚 Department of Sociology, and whose own work focuses on the organizational and institutional conditions for the creation, modification, or elimination of cultural categories like genres. (She is co-editor of a book series, , published by Stanford University Press and is reputedly the first sociologist to 鈥� Hilos, composed by Gabriela Frank and performed by ALIAS Chamber Ensemble.)

Indeed, in a field with many powerful voices and perspectives, it鈥檚 essential to have an ear for broader debates and trends in the arts and cultural policy.

鈥淣o man or woman is an island, and no arts organization exists in isolation. Let鈥檚 be conversant and literate on those broader debates. We want this program to reflect the fact that as arts administrators, this is a global community of practice, especially during the current climate we face.鈥�

鈥� Gemma Mangione, ARAD Program Director & Lecturer

鈥淣o man or woman is an island, and no arts organization exists in isolation,鈥� says Mangione. 鈥淟et鈥檚 be conversant and literate on those broader debates. We want this program to reflect the fact that as arts administrators, this is a global community of practice, especially during the current climate we face.鈥�

To that end, leveraging an international network of faculty, the redesigned program emphasizes international practices in arts management that 鈥減ermit the contemporary administrator to be a true citizen of the global art world,鈥� says Wong.  

Instigating Collaboration

That outlook and skillset is both exemplified and emphasized by Davinia Gregory, an interdisciplinary writer, researcher, educator and artist who joined the ARAD program this past September as Assistant Professor of Arts Administration.

In courses such as Race and the Arts and Decolonizing Culture: International Perspectives, Gregory takes a holistic approach to teaching, encouraging students to examine the impact that racialization and Race thinking have on the arts and vice versa. Students identify, analyze and critique the broader economic system within which the arts exist in the Western world. They explore the cultural logic of that system and the ethical considerations in working alongside different organizations and institutions.

Ultimately, Gregory challenges students to ask themselves: What does it take to be a good leader? How are you going to use your career to make the world a better place? What drives you?

鈥淚 have learned so much from Dr. Gregory鈥檚 foundational readings, which point to systems that perpetuate the power imbalances and injustices on which many educational institutions were founded,鈥� says second-year ARAD master鈥檚 degree student Cornelia Clay. 鈥淎 major goal of mine is to reprioritize artists鈥� voices in the art world. In the world we live in, voices are too often lost and undervalued 鈥� it鈥檚 so crucial to make space for them. Art is a way to open minds and share perspectives, so it's essential that artists and audiences alike have the opportunity for that exchange. And the 鈥楻ace and the Arts鈥� course is particularly transformative because it focuses on how we might enact change and rebalance inequities from outside and within arts institutions.鈥�

Gregory also wins plaudits for her commitment and connection with students. 

鈥淒r. Gregory is incredibly thoughtful with her teachings,鈥� says Shanae Burch, a student who audited 鈥淩ace and the Arts.鈥� 鈥淪he balances texts with artistic encounters that help us detangle the creative tensions that must be overcome in this field. She has further encouraged me to explore and unpack ideas about Black identity beyond the U.S. in my dissertation.鈥�

Gregory says she 鈥渋nstigates鈥� students to engage in effective, deep collaboration and doesn鈥檛 plan on stopping anytime soon. 鈥淚 think that's the core of all ideas and future change 鈥� people really aiming to understand one another on the deepest level. And that鈥檚 what this program is about 鈥� understanding and leading at the same time.鈥� 

鈥淚 don鈥檛 aim to give hope, but I do aim to show how entangled and entrenched racial hierarchy is in our societies, and what can be done to fix it. Then let's explore that work together and discover how the arts can contribute.鈥�

鈥� Davinia Gregory, Assistant Professor of Arts Administration

Given the many divides in America and across the world today, that鈥檚 a difficult but essential uphill struggle.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 aim to give hope,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut I do aim to show how entangled and entrenched racial hierarchy is in our societies, and what can be done to fix it. Then let's explore that work together and discover how the arts can contribute.鈥�

Touching the Future

Lena says she鈥檚 deeply gratified that elements of the ARAD relaunch are already making a difference for current students like Clay and Burch. But she鈥檚 even more excited by the thought of what the program鈥檚 future impact.

鈥淚 have learned so much from Dr. Gregory鈥檚 foundational readings, which point to systems that perpetuate the power imbalances and injustices on which many educational institutions were founded. The 鈥楻ace and the Arts鈥� course is particularly transformative because it focuses on how we might enact change and rebalance inequities from outside and within arts institutions.鈥� 

鈥� Cornelia Clay, second-year ARAD student

鈥淭he fact that we鈥檝e reduced the cost of tuition by 20 percent is probably the thing I鈥檒l do in my career that will benefit the greatest number of people,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t means we鈥檒l get all kinds of people in the program that we鈥檝e never gotten before 鈥� and that means all kinds of new people running museums and galleries and filling other jobs where they can earn promotions and benefits and enough money to support families. We鈥檒l be training the next head of the Met, and nine million people go there every year. Multiply that by Lincoln Center and other institutions our graduates might end up running, and you鈥檝e got something really huge going on.鈥�

— Jackie Teschon