ARTS MANAGEMENT

Arts Management is a case-based interactive lab offering students an introduction to some practical issues (and related concepts) of managing arts organizations.
The lab provides students with some conceptual tools to familiarize with the managerial dimension of arts organizations; it invites to acknowledge the specificity and complexity of cultural settings which require careful managerial approaches; it ultimately invites to a reflection on the meaning of management in arts organizations. The lab addresses students of arts management, but also management students willing to understand the specificity of cultural settings, or arts and humanities students, willing to be introduced to issues of management.
For its multidisciplinary, applied, and interactive nature, the Arts Management interactive lab contributes to the College goals of integrating students’ degree programs and disciplinary knowledge with a range of interactive labs and other activities of the cultural program.

At the end of the lab, students are expected to:

1) Have grasped un understanding of what management is, what is specific to it in arts organization, whether it is, or it is not, something 'else' from the running of a cultural activity.
In particular, students are expected to have developed from the case studies and class discussions a solid knowledge of:
• the meaning of financial sustainability in arts organizations;
• the meaning of governance and business models in arts organizations;
• the role of planning and budgeting in arts organizations.

2) Have developed or stengthened abilities of case-based learning: specifically, to analyse, present and critically discuss a case study in public, to recognize elements of theory in case studies, and to mobilize evidence from case studies to illustrate theoretical concepts.

3) Have developed the ability to identify management issues in real world arts organizations, and critically reflect on them.

None. Prior knowledge and experience in management and/or the arts are useful and welcome, but not necessarily required.

After a general introduction on what management is, the lab will address a specific management topic: financial sustainability. This topic will be articulated through two main foci: a focus on governance and business models; and a focus on planning tools.
Each focus will be addressed starting from the analysis of a case study from the instructor's field research experience. Theoretical knowledge on these concepts will thus be developed interactively and largely inductively from the case studies discussion.

The lab will be articulated into three interactive seminars (spanning 5 academic hours overall) and into two online discussion forums in between, as follows:
Introduction session (1 hour): We will introduce each other and the lab's objectives and structure. We will initiate a discussion on what management in the arts is.
- Case 1 discussion forum (on moodle): Students will receive and read a case study. On a moodle forum, I will post questions for a collective case analysis.
Seminar 1 (2 hours): Case discussion and reflection on the concepts of governance and business models.
- Case 2 discussion forum (on moodle): Students will receive and read another case study. On a moodle forum, I will post questions for a collective case analysis.
Seminar 2 (2 hours): Case discussion and reflection on the concepts/tools of planning and budgeting. A final conclusion will follow.

Case studies and slides made available on moodle.

The final grade will be expressed in 30/30 and will be constructed as follows:
30% on pertinent and constructive participation to the online forums;
70% on a final report: after the conclusion of the lab, students will be asked to select a cultural organization of their choice and analyze its managerial dimension, focusing especially on governance, business model, and planning aspects. Instructions will be given at the end of Seminar 2.
A “+” may be given to students who actively participate during the seminars.

This is an interactive lab, organized through two interactive seminars (plus an introductory session) and two online discussion forums. Students’ active participation and contribution in all phases of the process is fundamental.
The lab is rooted in a case-based approach, in order for students to get a more vivid understanding of the theoretical concepts mobilized throughout the lab.
In case of total or partial online teaching: both seminars will be held online synchronically (in streaming), with webcams mandatorily on to enable as much interaction as possible. Students will have to secure a stable internet connection, in that case.

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