Nonprofit Management for Visual and Performing Arts Organizations: Museums, Foundations, Cultural Centers, Organizations and Cultural Private Businesses
This course seeks to provide students with a solid grounding in the fundamentals of arts and cultural management. Whether a for-profit gallery or theatre, nonprofit dance company or museum, well educated and trained arts managers must understand the principles of managing their organization as a business and as a catalyst for social and community change. The workshop will provide an overview of five critical core subjects:
- Strategic Planning – Why Plan? The 7 steps of successful planning
- Board Development – the roles and responsibilities of board members
- Fundraising – successful fundraising in a down economy
- Financial Management – getting your financial house in order
- Marketing – marketing and social networking
Each segment will feature a lecture by the instructor and a presentation by a guest speaker who will put theory into practice with case studies and real life examples. In addition to the core subject matter, the workshop will include strategies for arts and culture organizations to survive and thrive in a declining economy, to maintain ethical standards in management practices, and to work with outside consultants. Students will receive a course packet that will include articles, worksheets, glossaries, bibliographies and website listings that will extend their learning long after the class ends.
Gallery Management:
Artistic Management and Product Positioning
This course aims to provide students with the best practices of art gallery management. Students will learn the fundamentals for developing the artist’s selection and criteria, positioning the art gallery in the art market and art festivals, curatorial theory and practice, as well as marketing exhibitions and developing strategic sales skills.
Course Highlights:
- Gallery exhibition
- Theories and practices
- Art dealing
- Art market and research for potential buyers
- Curatorial responsibilities
- Collection management
- Artist’s selection
- Exhibition’s program
Fundraising and Patronage:
The Art of Strategic Fundraising
Developing funds for cultural organization(s) or projects, especially in times of economic challenge, is crucial for institutions. This course aims to provide students with effective fundraising strategies, tactics on how to seek potential donors, maximizing the organization’s mission and vision, understanding the community economy and leaders. Students will learn the methods for researching potential donors and relationship cultivation from constituent to government levels.
Course Highlights:
- Relationship building
- Research, planning and cultivation
- Fundraising plan
- Constituency of donors
- USA / MEX fundraising opportunities (E.g., Government, Corporate, Individual, Local Business and Foundations).
- Governance
Museum and Art Gallery Special Event Management:
Development, Logistics and Protocol
August 19, 26 & September 2, 2009*
*August course meets 5:30-9:30 p.m. each day
Special events are important because they provide an entertaining source of income for current and potential donors. A successful special event involves about relationship cultivation, learning experience, promotion and management. This course studies and presents topics including recruiting volunteer leaders, developing an event committee, vendor relations, budgeting, timelines, collateral production, marketing exposure, underwriting, protocol, and achieving successful signature events in different venues.
Course Highlights:
- Signature event
- Event collaboration relations
- Identify potential donors.
- Explore ethical and media protocol
- Developing sponsorship opportunities
- Budgeting
- Event timeline
- Developing your target audience
- Travel exhibition logistics and audience
Marketing for the Arts: Strategies for Audience Development, Sales, and Program Development
This course aims to provide students with effective marketing tools that help organizations implement successful promotional and fundraising campaigns. Students will learn the importance of community awareness, promotion and communication. Marketing is an important tool that evokes constituents to support the artistic community and promote the conservation and preservation of cultural heritage.
Course Highlights:
- Marketing research
- Product positioning
- Audience development (USA / México)
- Inclusion and interpretation (e.g., translations, English / Spanish)
- Branding development & packaging
- Sponsorship development and promotion
- Marketing technology (e.g., e-marketing)
- Customer service
- Public relations
- Cultural tourism
Communication and Media for
Nonprofit Art and Cultural Organizations
The need for nonprofit organizations to reach out and engage new audiences is more important and challenging than ever. Communication is an essential tool for nonprofit organizations, and when an organization is under economic pressure, the right message for awareness must be sent. This course aims to help students attract funding, serve more clients, and advance the organization’s mission. Class time is devoted to communication issues and strategies specific to effective oral and written communication and resources to guide organizations through successful implementation.
Course Highlights:
- Legal considerations
- Community affairs
- Communication plan
- Marketing technology
- Public and media relations
- Protocol for written and oral communication
Art Collecting, Sales, and Auctions: Art Festivals, Galleries, Investment Initiative, and Auction Houses
The art market demand shifts based on trends and the international demands; because of this, it is imperative to be aware of illicit art black market and how to identify original artwork. In this era of globalization, professionals must be aware of the needs of the art market and its challenges. Students will learn the history of art collecting and the role of the art dealer, art collector, and patron of the arts. Also, the student will learn the Best Practices of market analysis, market trends, and methodologies for promoting art collections to auction houses and private dealers.
Course Highlights:
- Best practices for visual analysis, identification, interpretation and description of artwork
- Quality appraisal
- History of art collecting
- Best practices for cataloguing
- Research methods to identify a collection’s value
- Knowledge of the art market and the auction house
- Transactions
- Preservation and conservation
Program and Exhibition Development:
Temporary Exhibition Theory and Practice
This course aims to provide students with an understanding about the role of the museum as a catalyst in community outreach and education. Students will gain the best practices to develop art exhibitions that embrace and create
‘museum experiences.’ Also, students will learn the fundamental curator’s needs and/or exhibition’s operations and logistics entailed in the creative process.
Course Highlights:
- Visitor’s safety: Security
- Budgeting and timeline
- Exhibition layout and design
- Art education and exhibition: Creating the ‘museum experience’
- Museography
- Museology
- Transportation: Shipping and handling
- Insurance
- Criteria for conservation and restoration
International Cultural Collaboration:
Law for the Arts and Leadership (ELECTIVE)
Marketing and collaboration is a perfect match. This course aims to provide students with leadership skills and the judiciary process to develop cultural collaboration. Students will learn how to develop strategic cultural relationships in order to assist mutual financial, cultural and outreach goals. The student will learn how to identify the needs of its organization and others, its community and socio-economic, political and cultural environment. The class objective is to encourage organizations and individuals to work together and maximize support from government and private funding to protect, conserve and promote the cultural heritage in public art projects. The class will provide the best practices for international relations, U.S. Customs, contracts, and the international collaboration diplomatic process.
Course Highlights:
- Leadership USA / MEX
- SWOT evaluation
- Committee structure
- Organizational structure
- Cultural heritage
- Contracts
- Judiciary system
- Juridical regime for the cultural patrimony
Business Writing Skills for the Arts: Business Plan Development and Analytical Thinking (ELECTIVE)
The objective of this course will be to develop new writing skills and techniques necessary for positive results in art management. The course will focus on both form and content, where mediums and strategies will be reviewed in different aspects such as grant writing, lobbying, inter-institutional relations, governmental policies and practices, courtesy listings, relationship building and networking. A particular focus will be dedicated to the communication processes as presented in other classes of the program such as Public Policy, Law and Marketing - with the clear intention of putting theory to practice in the development of business plans and the decision making process.
Course Highlights:
- Networking & Strategies in Communication
- Mediums of Communication
- Form and Content in Writing
- Institutions, Dependencies and NGOs in the Bi-national Context
- Project: Assignment
- Audience and Actors
- Precision and Aim
- Market and Goals
- Business Plan Development
- Project: Writing and Elaboration
- Overview of Communication Processes in Related Classes
- Guest Speaker
- Project: Presentation
