As public sector funding for the arts has become restricted, there is an increasing need for well qualified arts administrators, who are able to work at the interface between artistic creativity and sound business practice. The growth of the arts and the creative industries has created a need for well qualified arts administrators. This MA has the potential to shape a new breed of professionals in the arts management field by offering Liberal Arts, Humanities, Fine Arts, Film, Media and Communication graduates the opportunity to acquire the appropriate management and business skills, thus enabling them to capitalize upon their previous grounding within the arts.
Thanks to AUR’s connections and collaborations with numerous artistic and cultural institutions both in Rome and in Italy, this MA also offers the opportunity to gain invaluable professional experience. Rome and Italy are especially attractive for the study of arts, in general, and arts management in particular, given enormous resources that are available to scholars, art world professionals and students. Italy has a long and rich tradition of collecting, sponsoring and exhibiting visual arts. A special advantage available to students of Arts Management in Italy is a possibility to study some of the world’s oldest private collections and a specific system of patronage in the arts. Students will have an opportunity to conduct their research and internship in Roman and Italian arts institutions, some of which exist for centuries and manage the world’s most prestigious collections. This creates a unique academic experience and study environment, in which students can grow both professionally and intellectually.
Potential career paths
With this MA, students will be able to either seek employment with art-related organizations or management, or to pursue research at the Ph.D. level.
• Duration: 15 months
• Start date: Fall 2015
• Credits: 36
Courses and thesis
• Six core courses: 21 credits total
• Three electives: 9 credits total
• Internship and Thesis: 6 credits total
The complexity of today’s globalizing art world requires a diverse set of knowledge and skills. The range of potential responsibilities of arts administrators requires a graduate program which will give future art managers in depth knowledge about the structure of the contemporary art world, the nature of artistic and cultural values in general in connection to their market value, a solid knowledge of the business and market principles, in their application to the sphere of artistic and cultural production, as well as high level skills that will make future professionals in the arts management desirable candidates for a variety of posts in particular institutions of the art world, such as museums, galleries, art fairs and media reporting on art and analyzing the current artistic scene. The AUR’s MA in Arts Management enables students to acquire basic skills in the fundamental areas of art management and art administration, giving them an opportunity, through the selection of elective courses and internship experience to specialize in a particular area of their interest.
Learning Outcomes
With the MA program in Arts Management, AUR’s mission is to educate future professionals with an advanced knowledge of the contemporary art world and art administration/art management, who would be able to apply their knowledge in the global society. Upon completing the program students will be able to apply their knowledge and skills in all areas identified as the needed in the contemporary art world and art market. Students will be able to demonstrate:
• Advanced skills in the sphere of institutional management, which includes: in-depth knowledge of the way in which the key institutions of the contemporary art world (such as museums, galleries, art fairs, auction houses, art dealers and private collectors, and art media) function, the ability to design and carry out institutional strategic plans, and the ability to organize teamwork and recognize individual potentials of team members
• Advanced skills in the sphere of art project management, in particular: capacity to design and carry out demanding projects, such as international exhibitions, art fairs, logistics in realization of major art projects, artistic projects of the alternative artistic production and emerging artistic scenes, fundraising abilities (the ability to locate potential donors, such as art foundations, governmental and non-governmental organizations that sponsor art projects, and individual contributors), knowledge of basics of the financial management, which enables future professionals to design budgets and work with multiple financial sources
• Advanced knowledge of art market principles, including: market, social, political and cultural factors that structure the art market, specific features of the art market and institutions of art in Europe, USA, and emerging art markets across the globe, structure of the market price of artworks and factors that influence the price of artworks
• Advanced knowledge of relevant art theories, that explain and contextualize the complex artistic production and functioning of the contemporary art world, with the focus on: the value of art and how the cultural and aesthetic values are related to the market value, the broader social status of creativity and creative inquiry and the ways in which creative works are valorized, understanding the dynamics of the globalizing art market and the complexity of theoretical issues that the globalizing art world and art market pose, that involve ideological, economic and political issues, in addition to aesthetic ones
• Advanced knowledge of the social and cultural role of particular institutions of the art, such as museums, galleries, art fairs, public art projects and art publications
• Advanced knowledge of curatorial practices and exhibition design principles
• Students will also be able to clearly demonstrate that they have acquired the following abilities and skills: research skills, necessary to study at the graduate level and to write research papers, the ability to plan and execute an extensive research project, high level analytical skills, and the ability to communicate ideas and arguments effectively.
A vital aspect of the learning process will also be the exposure of students to the cultural diversity of Rome and of Italy, and to make the most of the opportunities for on-site teaching visits.
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