INSIDE DOUGLAS COLLEGE / MARCH 179, 1997

 

 

College Program Teaches the Business of Art

i the 1990’s, the arts mean busi-
ness.

It’s not often we think about
the ballet, the symphony, or a
museum as a business venture.

They are regarded as cultural
havens, places that have always
been there, places where we can
go to enrich ourselves, to get
another perspective.

But the museums, art galleries
and theatres have not always been
there and it is becoming increasing-
ly clear that they will not survive
unless we begin to think of them
as bona fide businesses that need
bona fide administrators and
managers.

Dorothy Jones, Co-ordinator
of the new Arts Management Pro-
gram at Douglas College says the
arts are in dire need of dedicated
people with managerial skills, a
love of the arts, and who are inter-
ested in their preservation.

“The arts are an endangered
species. We need people who are
really interested in the arts who
are prepared to make a career out
of promulgating and preserving
the arts,” she says.

That’s where the Arts Manage-
ment Program plays an important
role. With government funding
going to causes other than the arts,
the field is hungry for people with
marketing, public relations and
fundraising skills. Trained ad-
ministrators are the saviours for
arts world. And Douglas College
is the only place in the province
that offers this specialized training.

Lori Baxter knows about the
business side of art. Baxter has a
full-time career in the Arts
Management field as a co-partner
of Solutions Marketing, a Van-
couver arts management and con-
sulting firm.

“Gone are the days when
anyone can run an arts program,”
she says. “The arts have suffered
from lack of organization an busi-
ness skills. We need experts who
are trained in the fine arts of

marketing and money handling.”

But not just any business train-
ing will do. Arts management
takes a special flair. “It definitely
takes a dedicated person,” Baxter
says. “The pay isn’t the best, you
have to survive on four hours of
sleep, and you're often working
with very little or no funds. But if
you love it, it’s the best thing you
can do. There’s nothing like the
feel-ing you get when the house is
full.”

“Marketing the arts is a dif-
ferent kettle of fish from market-
ing an ordinary product. There are
real skills and challenges in-
volved,” says Jones. “Marketing
an opera or a symphony is much
more difficult than marketing a
Can

The Arts Management Pro-
gram offers students two options;
a one-year certificate or a two-year
diploma program to learn the
specialties of management. Stu-

dents take courses in marketing,
business, communications and
computer information systems.

As well, specialized business cour-
ses in arts management are used

to examine aspects of managing,
financing, fundraising and market-
ing the arts.

Students can expect to find
jobs in the many venues of the arts
world. “The employment oppor-
tunities are endless,” Jones says.
“The program gives students a
diverse background enabling
them to work in many places, in-
cluding museums, theatres, tour-
ing companies and even as
promoters for individual artists.”

The arts scene has always
relied on movers and shakers, but
it looks like its survival depends
more and more on the graduates
of the Douglas College Arts
Management Program. For more
information on the program, call
Dorothy Jones at 527-5281. @

 

 

 

 

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