Redefining the Principles and Elements ofEducating Artists in the 21st Century

Kelly Stevelt-Kaser, Sara Pennington-Busick, Mindi Rhoades

December 2004

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Kelly Stevelt-Kaser is a Masters student in the Arts Policy and Administration program at The Ohio StateUniversity and a graduate teaching assistant in the department of Art Education. An intern for the OhioArts Council Arts Learning Program, she played an integral role in planning the 2004 NationalEndowment for the Arts Summer Institute for School Leaders. Kelly received her Bachelor of Arts MagnaCum Laude in the Liberal Arts with Honors from The Ohio State University in 2003 and was inducted intoPhi Kappa Beta.

Sara Pennington-Busick is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Arts Policy and Administration at TheOhio State University. She is employed as a Graduate Administrative Associate at the Wexner Center forthe Arts and is working as a research assistant to the Director of Career Resources at Columbus Collegeof Art and Design. Sara holds a Bachelor’s degree in Art with a concentration in photography fromMorehead State University and has exhibited her artwork in numerous shows and competitions. Sarareceived a 2003-2004 Graduate Fellowship from The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.

Mindi Rhoades is a current Ph.D. student in the Art Education program at The Ohio State University witha B.A. in English and an M.Ed. in Language Education from the University of Georgia. She taught highschool English for six years in Athens, Georgia and served as a consultant with American College Testing(ACT) and Education Testing Services (ETS), including work on National Board Certification materials.Mindi has also worked for the Philadelphia School District, administered a 21st Century CommunityLearning Center grant and program in Philadelphia, and administered a computer-based testing andevaluation center at Columbus State Community College.

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Outline

Preface: Organizing the 2004 Barnett Symposium

Evolution of the Symposia

Recognizing the Problem

Principles: Designing the Education of an Artist

Depth & Breadth: Striking Balance

Variety in the Classroom: Infusing Technology

Creating Social Value: Emphasizing Awareness & Responsibility

Elements: Professional Skills as Essentials

Coloring Your World: Multiple Means of Communication

Line and Structure: Critical Thinking and Research Skills

Forming Connections: Collaboration Skills

Shaping Your Passion: Self-management Skills

Composition: Orchestrating Change

Proportion: So Much to Teach, So Little Time

Symmetry: University Life versus the “Real World”

Unity: Mission to Motion

Texture: Adapting to Change

Expanding Dimensions: New Opportunities and Challenges

Authentic Accomplishments: Knowing Artistic Rights

Success in the 21st Century

Finding Harmony: Less Talk, More Action

References

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Preface: Organizing the 2004 Barnett Symposium

The 6th Barnett Symposium held in the spring of 2003, It’s More than the Making: Educating Artists in the21st Century, developed from the discussion and questions raised during the 5th Barnett Symposium,Creative Industries and Cultural Professions in the 21st Century. The 2003 symposium so energizeddiscussions across the College of the Arts that Karen Bell, Dean of the College and Patricia Stuhr, Chairof the Department of Art Education, decided to extend and broaden the dialogue by inviting the chairs ofother college departments to participate in the planning for the 2004 symposium.1 An interdisciplinaryplanning committee made up of member of the college and community arts organizations was formed andmeetings commenced during the summer of 2003 and continued up to the 2004 symposium.2 Thecommittee recognized the need for a coordinator for the symposium and appointed Don Killeen to theposition. As coordinator, Don also developed an interdisciplinary graduate seminar to enable studentsacross the college to experience the symposium subject in a more in-depth way.3

The planning committee decided that the symposium and the graduate course were to be developedaround three questions: What are the current professional cultures of various arts and design worlds?How might the professional roles played by artists and intermediaries and their environments change inthe future? How can we better prepare students for the arts workforce in the 21st century? Various artistsand arts professionals were invited to participate in the symposium through a format of panel discussions,keynote speakers, and performances, to explore and interpret these questions. A highlight of thesymposium was a commissioned performance by Sojourn Theatre from Portland, Oregon titled,“Transitions: Voices of Recent Arts Graduates” based on research interviews with over 100 recent artsgraduates from 11 schools. The planning committee and the process of interdisciplinary dialogue in thebroadest sense embodied the college’s, department’s, and community arts leaders’ belief that curriculumis a dynamic process; a process increasingly dependent on ever-expanding newer technologies. It wasthe hope of the committee that their vision and activity would become part of the way arts studentsunderstand their learning and professional roles in the 21st Century.

1 The invitation to participate in the planning of the 2004 Barnett Symposium was extended to the college chairs at a Dean ExecutiveCommittee meeting held in the spring of 2003. The chairs who accepted the invitation were Lesley Ferris, Theatre; Maria Palazzi,Director, Advanced computing Centre for the Arts and Design; Ardine Nelson, Art.2 The membership of the planning committee was composed of : Karen Bell, Dean College of the Arts; Patricia Stuhr, Chair andProfessor, Art Education; Don Killeen, Symposium Coordinator and Adjunct Faculty, Art Education; Vesta Daniel, AssociateProfessor, Art Education; Lesley Ferris, Chair and Professor, Theatre; David Frego, Associate Director and Associate Professor,Music; Prudence Gill, Curator Hopkins Hall Gallery and Corridor, College of the Arts; Wayne Lawson, Executive Director, Ohio ArtsCouncil, Adjunct Faculty, Art Education; Ardine Nelson, Interim Chair and Associate Professor, Art; Maria Palazzi, Director, AdvanceComputing Center for the Arts & Design, Associate Professor, Industrial, Interior, and Visual Design; James Sanders, VisitingAssociate Professor, Art Education: Beth Sullivan, Associate Professor, Theatre; Donn Vickers, Executive Director, Academy ofLeadership and Governance, Adjunct Faculty, Art Education; Margaret Wyszomirski, Director, Arts Policy and AdministrationProgram, Professor, Art Education.3 Students from the seminar course were required to write group papers that were used to develop this briefing paper. Contributorsincluded David Guion, Esther Kho, Ellie Kim, Cecily Marbach, Rachel Shane, Susannah Van Horn.

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Evolution of the Symposia

For over two years, through two Barnett Symposia and two graduate seminars,the Arts Policy and Administration Program at the Ohio State University haspursued a project on “The Changing Face of the Creative Workforce.” Theproject began with the observation of a paradox. On the one hand, researchtold us that the workforce of the American creative sector is large, highlyskilled, and well educated. Furthermore, these workers are part of one of thefastest growing, most dynamic segments of the emerging “knowledgeeconomy.” On the other hand, the public tends to see those who work incultural organizations and creative occupations as a motley crew trying tonavigate uncertain, risky and highly competitive career waters. Many seem tobe poorly paid, find only part-time work, and enjoy few benefits. Only a fewenjoy the success of becoming “stars”. While creative sector workers generallyseem under-valued, collectively, arts products and cultural companies are notonly one of the largest and most dynamic sectors of the US economy, they areincreasingly central to social and civic life.

Any attempt to explain this paradox raises a number of questions. Just whatconstitutes the creative sector? What workers, occupations and professionsare components of the creative sector workforce? What problems do theseworkers share and what are their separate concerns? How are these workerseducated and how do they sustain a career? What are their opportunities andneeds for professional development and on-going training? What is the stateof research on these questions and what needs to be done? And what can welearn from the examples of other countries as they try to address this creativeparadox?

Our search for answers to such questions began in the spring of 2002, as webegan planning for the May 2003 Barnett Symposium. It was decided that weneeded to establish a broad overview of the subject and its context. Before wecould examine the creative workforce, it was necessary to decide whatactivities, occupations, organizations, and industries might be included in thesector. In other words, a concept of what constitutes the creative sector had tobe built. We also knew that a number of external forces were affecting howthis sector worked and how creative careers were launched and developed.As part of a new graduate seminar, the Director of the Arts Policy andAdministration Program worked with graduate students to collect information,review the experience of other countries, and surface observations andquestions that could both inform the symposium and digest the results ofsymposium discussions.

The 2003 Barnett Symposium, “The Creative Industries and CulturalProfessions in the 21st Century,” met May 8th and 9th on The Ohio StateUniversity campus in Columbus, Ohio. This two-day think tank broughttogether experts and information from the arenas of art education, culturalpolicy, arts management, research institutions, philanthropic foundations andprofessional associations serving artists and other members of the creativeworkforce. Participants used three analytical lenses to help “establish organicworking definitions of key concepts and relationships.” These three lensesincluded: (1) the development of the concept of the creative sector to help ussee the scale, dimensions, variety, and interdependencies of the sector and itsconstituent parts; (2) the selection of the three key cultural professions of artist,arts educator and arts administrator to gain perspective on the character, paceand challenges of adapting to a changing environment; and (3) an examinationof how four external forces of change were affecting the creative sector and its

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workers. These change factors were technology, globalization, generationalturnover in the sector, and broad demographics shifts in society.

At the end of two days of lively discussion, we had a clearer sense of the scopeand variety of the creative sector, a sharper appreciation of both differencesand shared concerns of the three professional groups represented, and manynew and additional questions. Our awareness that the se questions andconcerns were shared by colleagues in many other countries was heightened.And we gained a greater appreciation of the work to be done before we wouldhave sufficient facts and understanding to make suggestions for what might bedone as a matter of training, practice, or policy to support creative careers ordevelop the creative sector.

Two immediate next steps suggested themselves. First, we needed to bothcapture and augment the research and exploration that had emerged from thegraduate seminar and the symposium and share it with others. Thus a team ofparticipants from the symposium joined with Professor Margaret Wyszomirskito produce a book that would help ground and advance these ideas. Second,many participants felt they wanted to hear more from the artists themselvesabout their experiences and challenges and how these might vary from onediscipline to another. Others wanted to learn more about “intermediaries” (likeagents, producers, galleries) and the critical role they can play in advancingartistic careers. As a consequence, it was decided that a follow-up symposiumand attendant graduate seminar should be organized for the spring of 2004.

Recognizing the Problem

As we enter the 21st century, a new economy is emerging: the “knowledgeeconomy.” Several factors are catalyzing this change: “rapid technologicaladvances, globalization, shifts in general population demographics, and agenerational turnover in key professions and leadership” (Wyszomirski, 2003).Since the creative sector is an increasingly significant aspect of this neweconomy, artists and other creative workers are likely to enjoy new andexpanding job prospects.

Such change not only presents new opportunities, it generates new challengesfor those helping to prepare individuals to work in the creative sector. As anincreasing number of new skills and disciplines infiltrate the mainstreamcurriculum, traditional practices are reexamined and perhaps cast aside. Asnew topics—such as the cultivation of social awareness, professional skills,and new proficiency in technology and media—jockey for a place in theclassroom. Every educator is aware that there is not an infinite amount of timeor space and for something to be added something else is lost.

In the article titled “Protesting Professionalism” from the February 1991 issue ofNew Art Examiner, author Howard Risatti states that “at the very heart of theproblem of educating the artist lies the difficulty of defining what it means to bean artist today.”

The very structure of the university and its role in educating artists is beingcalled into question in the face of current challenges in education. In the article“What Are They Teaching Art Students These Days?” that appeared in theApril 2003 issue of ArtNews, author and artist Gail Gregg indicates that

In the book “Art Subjects:Making Artists in theAmerican University”,author Howard Singermanstates that “Among thetasks of the universityprogram in art is to separateits artists and the art worldin which they will operatefrom “amateurs” or“Sunday painters,” as wellas from a definition of theartist grounded in manualskill, tortured genius, orrecreational pleasure.Moreover, art in theuniversity must constituteitself as a department and adiscipline, separate frompublic “lay” practices andequal to other studies oncampus” (1999).

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educating fine artists within universities is a relatively new idea. She notes thatthe first B.F.A. degrees were awarded in the 1930s, and that artists werepreviously trained as apprentices. Despite the fact that formal (non-vocational)fine art training is a young field, universities have embraced arts programs andthey can now be found almost everywhere.

As university art curricula continue to change, we must decide what is best forthe developing artist. In the briefing paper Guiding the Arts Student: AcademicAdvising, Career Counseling, and Mentoring, by Catherine Sentman Anderson,it states that:

…artists live multifaceted lives – producing, performing, teaching, andmyriad other endeavors. The degree to which young artists will beable to function in a variety of roles within the arts enterprise isdetermined at least in part by the degree to which their various artistic,intellectual, and social abilities are developed while they are students(1995).

With this in mind, we must think about the various factors that are currentlyfacing visual and performing arts students and the role of the university inpreparing students to enter the 21st century workforce.

As more responsibility is heaped upon arts students, faculty, andadministrators, we need to find some answers before the educational watersare muddied and perspective is lost. Because the field is evolving quickly, pastdefinitions of success for preparing individuals become outdated and itbecomes imperative for those within educational institutions to facilitatediscussions about managing this change. With a growing population ofstudents in university arts programs we must explore the problems that facethese students as they leave these programs and enter the 21st centuryworkforce. It is important for university arts programs to understand why andhow they are educating artists.

Such a discussion recently occurred at The Ohio State University, whereeducators, artists and students from around the country gathered for the 2004Barnett Symposium. Many educators are also beginning to address thedilemmas of incorporating new skills and cultivating greater consciousnessamong students—some call for change within education, some desire tomaintain the status quo, and others look to find a balance between the two.

This issue brief looks at major issues arising from the debate on how toeducate artists in the 21st Century:

• What types of professional skills are necessary for success in the neweconomy?

• Should the focus be on developing craft or concept in the study of art?

• What is the impact of established practices in formal education onteaching the arts?

• How are economic factors influencing collegiate art education?

By considering some or all of the key questions within this brief, individuals cantake a proactive step towards understanding the implications this shift has for

Are we educatingartists to…

• Be efficient/creative workers?

• Be better citizens?

• Be skilled artists?

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students, faculty, and administrators, and begin the balancing act required forsuccessfully educating tomorrow’s arts leaders.

In examining the positioning of arts education today in producing successfulartists for the creative sector of the 21st century, concepts central to art anddesign curriculum formed a useful structure for anchoring the many integralcomponents to consider in conceptualizing the future structure of theseprograms. The principles, elements, composition, texture, and harmonyexplored in forming arts education programs hopefully allow each program toproduce its own signature solution for educating successful artists.

Principles: Designing the Education of an Artist

Principles [pr_ns_p_lz] 1: basic generalizations accepted as true that can beused as a basis for reasoning or conduct 2: the philosophical foundations fordesigning a program for educating artists entering the creative sector in the 21st

century

Because art and design program structures are as varied as the abilities andneeds of their entering students, a key principle of designing programs foreducating artists is to align program missions, goals, philosophicalunderpinnings, and definitions of success. Another key principle is tocommunicate, support, and reinforce these foundational structures throughoutthe program and institution. An institution like the Los Angeles Academy ofFigurative Art builds its program around producing artists with mastery andintegrity that “combines modern ideas with classical styles and intensivetraining,” artists with intensive skill in depicting the human figure reminiscent ofRubens and Caravaggio (http://www.artschools.com). Other programs arebased more on the principle of flexibility, allowing students to design highly-individualized or cutting-edge degrees and skill sets. Rensselaer’s arts degreeprograms have a particular emphasis on the use of technology and aninterdisciplinary approach to electronic arts, including computer music,interactivity, video, computer imaging, animation, web, multi-media installationand performance. Their degree is designed for students who aspire to beartists and who are also strong in math, science, and technology(http://www.arts.rpi.edu).

Some programs focus on producing artists with strong social agendas. Theprogram goals of the California College of the Arts are based on the principlesthat communication has an increasingly important influence on the globalcommunity and the premise that artists, architects, and designers can make apositive difference in the world. Because of these principles they offer “aninterdisciplinary curriculum that balances tradition with innovation; thatcombines theory and practice; and that connects art, design, and architecturewith each other and with the important issues of our society”(http://www.artschools.com).

Overall, some programs heavily emphasize theoretical development, someemphasize traditional skill expertise, and others emphasize the socially-relevant functions of art. Some schools have positioned themselves withinniche markets, specializing in a specific technique, media, tradition, orphilosophical approach to art. It is important for institutions to clearly definewhat their principles and goals are and what skills and experiences students

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will need to have at graduation. It is equally important for students to chooseprograms based on their career goals and educational expectations.

• How can students be aware of a program’s mission and goals, as wellas the alignment of program structure to support student success inachieving them?

• What will graduates of a program be prepared to do after leaving? Willthere be services available to supplement employment and marketingtraining for students?

• What is gained and lost with different models of program structures,from older apprentice models to newer arrangements such asdepartments within universities?

Depth & Breadth: Striking Balance

Balance ('ba-l&n(t)s) 1 : stability produced by even distribution betweencontrasting, opposing, or interacting elements 2: an aesthetically pleasingintegration of elements 3: an attempt to provide art students with a well-rounded education appropriate to their needs and the evolving expectations ofthe creative sector

Perspective (p&r-'spek-tiv) 1 : the interrelation in which a subject or its partsare mentally viewed 2 : the capacity to view things in their relations or relativeimportance 3: the process of relating student goals, school goals, and thegoals and expectations of the creative sector

Because there are many competing and co-existing perspectives of the roleand training needs of artists in the 21st century, today’s arts educationprograms need to carefully weigh issues of balance. Institutions and individualsneed to negotiate an appropriate balance between depth and breadth inalignment with their program structures and individual goals in order to prepareartists to enter the creative sector. Some students and careers requireintensive programs to develop specialty skills while others require a moregeneralist approach, and institutions should clearly articulate their positionsand potentials in relation to the depth and breadth of their programs.Institutions should also delineate how a diverse range of skills will be insertedinto the educational program, whether they will be infused throughout theprogram or in separate classes or workshops.

Depth & Breadth

Depth ('depth) 1: the direct linear measurement from front to back 2: the qualityor state of being complete or thorough 3: the capability of an institution toprovide a range of courses within a subject area or medium in order to facilitateskill and expertise

Depth in education provides students rich knowledge that allows them to thinkdeeply within specific media. It provides expertise and the ability to use aparticular media as a research paradigm. Specialists work more deeply andintensely within a specific medium or genre to explore issues, interests, orproblems.

“… don't confuse youracademic obligations withthe obligation to save theworld; that's not your job asan academic; and don'tsurrender your academicobligations to the agenda ofany non-academicconstituency — parents,legislators, trustees ordonors. In short, don't crossthe boundary betweenacademic work and partisanadvocacy, whether theadvocacy is yours orsomeone else's.”- Stanley Fish, former Deanof the College of LiberalArts and Sciences at theUniversity of Illinois atChicago (2004).

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Some schools hold deeply to their beliefs in the benefits of deep study andexploration of specialized media or methods. Schools with this approach argueeffectively for maintaining traditional departmental divisions. "We believe that ifa student engages deeply in one medium, something different happens,"maintains Richard Benson, dean of Yale’s School of Art. Rhode Island Schoolof Design (RISD) academic affairs provost Joe Dale echoes the idea thatdepartmental boundaries and separated disciplines teach students somethingvery different than they learn in cross-disciplinary work. By working within asingle medium, Dale notes that "what [students] learn is really how to learn."Vassar College visual-arts professor Harry Roseman adds that teaching skillsand technical proficiency within a medium is a way to teach the relationship“between the idea and the process . . . to get that thinking process going fromthe beginning. It’s not like doing scales for four years" (Gregg, 2003).

Breadth ('bredth) 1 : comprehensive quality: scope 2: providing a range ofknowledge, practice, skills, and experiences for art students entering today’sart fields

Breadth in education creates artistic generalists capable of moving from onemedia to the next or across mediums. Generalists can apply research skillsbroadly to multiple situations and problems, moving across media. In manyinstances, breadth within an arts program implies that students will not onlylearn specific media skills but will also learn larger business andcommunication skills, experience a greater exposure to theory within arts, andwork across several media areas. Loyola Marymount University states that,“One of the marks of art in the last days of the Twentieth Century is the needfor artists to be ‘multi-artists,’ capable of working in many art formssimultaneously.” Students in the College of Communication and Fine Arts ofLoyola Marymount University can take classes about the business aspects ofthe arts that “dovetail nicely with offerings in the Business College”(http://www.lmu.edu). Breadth prepares students to apply their knowledge to avariety of situations and media, often combining these to help create andexplore new concepts and even new methods of expression.

According to writer/artist Gail Gregg, some schools are making great changesto attempt to foster breadth for students. Michigan collapsed its 13‘concentrations’ in favor of ‘core studio modules’ to give students experiencewith a “wide variety of materials and processes, tools, the digital media, andcontemporary concepts.” UCLA’s School of Art has three departments forstudents to gain cross-disciplinary experience in visual arts, world arts, anddesign/media arts. UCLA’s Waterman noted a recurring issue withcontemporary forms of art and the difficulty in teaching students to create it,stating "A lot of this stuff doesn’t fit very neatly into the traditional categories"(2003).

Each institution must address the relationship and balance of depth andbreadth within their curriculum and how to structure their programs accordinglyto meet student needs. One of the largest challenges in structuring programs inachieving this balance is anticipating student needs in the rapidly shiftingenvironment of today’s creative sector. Technology and business skill needsevolve quickly in this sector, altering perspectives on the focuses and offeringsof programs in relationship to them. Being able to address real-life issuesfacing today’s art students and to communicate how the program tackles themis a fundamental necessity.

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Some programs manage to strike a delicate balance between depth andbreadth even within a specific skill or arts area. The Brooks Institute ofPhotography is focused around photographic media, encouraging students todevelop virtuoso photographic talent. Within this framework of a specialtymedia area, they also work with students to develop broader skills in everythingfrom proposals and budgeting to directing, editing, and teamwork. The principleof balance applied within different institutions leads to different structuresdesigned to meet student needs.

• What core/basic information, skills, and knowledge do all studentswithin a program need and how will they achieve them?

• How does a program achieve its balance between depth and breadth?What compromises must be made?

• What will be the impact on the education of future artists resulting fromchanges in program focus, especially around issues of depth, breadth,and the possible loss of strong foundational arts skills?

• How does theory fit into the program design? How does practice? Howdoes real-world application?

• How will the program adapt to the rapidly changing environment in thecreative sector?

Variety in the Classroom: Infusing Technology

Variety (v&-'rI-&-tE) 1: the quality or state of having different forms or types 2: arange of topics, skills, teaching methods, classroom approaches, and real-world opportunities for engagement and application

In art and design, variety within repetition is necessary to create and maintaininterest while avoiding stagnation. In educating artists, instructional variety isnecessary to sustain relevance and timeliness.

Almost every field in the economic sector is affected and often bombarded withthe continuous influx of new technology. Costumes no longer need to be handdrawn by designers and architectural models are no longer integral to thecreation of buildings. Today many things can be conceived, re-worked, andcreated solely with the use of a computer. Such an environment is ripe withpossibilities for artists with a creative outlook and technological skills. Artists asinventors are driving the development of many technologies we use and enjoytoday. In addition to artistic innovation, technology is also a necessarycomponent of contemporary business and entrepreneurial skills. Studentsgraduating from any educational program need a basic level of technologicalfluency with standard business programs and tools, from word processing andspreadsheets to web design. Any program for educating artists needs toincorporate technologies within their curricula. As John Terry, dean of fine artsat RISD, reports, "There is hardly any area of the school that technology hasn’treached" (Gregg, 2003).

• What does the technological and informational revolution mean forartists, teachers, and students? Will technology be covered in

In a nutshell, art schoolgives you the chance tomake art full-time forseveral years and a ready-made community of artists.What it won't give you is acushy academic ride orguaranteed success in theart world- http://www.princetonreview.com

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separate, dedicated courses or infused throughout the curriculum?

• As technology continues to improve, many students are graduatingwith greater fluency than professors. How can art departments keeptheir faculty, curricula, and equipment up to date?

• How will students gain the technology-related business skills often vitalin today’s creative sector?

Creating Social Value: Emphasizing Awareness &Responsibility

Value ('val-(")yü) 1 : relative lightness or darkness of a color 2: relative worth,utility, or importance 3: the relevance of the arts in providing societal benefit

Art making, education, and appreciation go hand in hand with confrontingsocietal issues. Art doesn’t just react to current events but can define them andclarify them for others. Since art is fundamentally a complicated arena it makessense that controversy surrounds the teaching of it. How and what to teach artstudents about the relationship between the arts and social issues is acontinual concern in educating artists. While there is a longstanding, traditionalbelief in art for art’s sake and the value of technical expertise and creating“masterpieces” above all else, some artist education programs accept thatartists can and should make a difference in the world. Through artistic self-expression, artists can go beyond being “concerned citizens” to actuallymaking a difference through means such as public and protest art. Someeducators believe that artists have a responsibility to act as agents of socialcommentary, agitation, and catalysts of change. These programs challengestudents to engage communities with their artwork in ways that prove beneficialto society on local, national, and international levels.

Should arts programs educate artists not only to reflect the world but toact as proactive members of the global community?

How can arts education programs facilitate student interaction withcommunities as a forum in which to test and develop their skills whileassisting others?

How do arts education programs address issues of social and culturaldiversity, awareness, inequity, and change?

Elements: Professional Skills as Essentials

Element ( l -m nt) 1 One of the simplest or essential parts or principles ofwhich anything consists 2 The skills needed to make an arts studentadaptable and moldable so that they may successfully transition into an artscareer

“The growth in cross-disciplinary computing in-the-arts curricula, whichtakes many forms, is likelyto yield increasing numbersof multi-skilled individualscapable of innovating inboth technical and artistic/arts-related fields…”(Mitchell, 2003).

Evidence: John HopkinsUniversity and theMaryland Institute Collegeof Art collaborated througha design coalition where artand design students wereasked to communicatepublic health issues to thecommunity at large. Suchcommunity artspartnerships candemonstrate the differencethat student’s skills canmake in their community.

Carol Becker, Dean ofFaculty at the School of theArt Institute of Chicago,wrote “There has beenintense discussion abouthow artists and creativepeople in general—thosecapable of bringing newideas into thesociety—have the moralobligation to use thesetalents to help others”(1999).

The community artistbuilds upon the power ofartistic creation andexpression to spark newideas and elicit newactions, both from peoplewho participate in thecreative process and thosewho witness its results.(http://www.communityarts.net)

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In his book Art Subjects: Making Artists in the American University, authorHoward Singerman states that “the image of the artist that we have inheritedfrom the nineteenth century – a driven, alienated, and silent individual –clashes directly with the idea of a university-trained professional artist. For bothcritics and supporters, the university stands for the presence of language andthe production of formal knowledge, and against the silence and inspiration ofthe born artist” (8).

This quote by Singerman emphasizes the fact that talent and technique are nolonger enough to “make it” as an artist in a professionalized field. In the reportPreparing Graduates in Art and Design to Meet the Challenges of Working inthe Creative Industries: a New Model for Work, author Linda Ball states that“art and design higher education has the potential to develop capable, flexible,adaptable, lateral thinking and creative individuals, but students do notnecessarily recognize these positive outcomes. They also lack essentialprofessional skills and an understanding of the industry they are entering”(2002, p. 10).

In The Creative Industries and Cultural Professions in the 21st Century: ABackground Paper, author Margaret Wyszomirski uses a statement by A.M.Galligan to bring attention to some of the obstacles that today’s artistsencounter:

…the arts are not easy professions to pursue as careers. Too littleprofessional training and business skills development opportunitiesexist. The lack of social recognition and financial stability presentbarriers to long-term careers. In addition, issues of copyright andglobal marketing and distribution now join longstanding issues ofhousing, health insurance, and workplace conditions as problems forworking artists (35).

Preparing students to be professionals in the “real world” after graduation wasa point of repeated discussion during the symposium. While most schoolsrecognize that upon graduation, students are in need of practical professionalskills, there is no universal agreement on how this can be accomplished mosteffectively. With rising tuition costs, many students are demandingprofessional skills training in order to land jobs directly after graduation. Thishas led some administrators to mandate the integration of these skills intoexisting arts courses. To others however, the art curriculum is crampedenough already, and to also teach professional skills in the classroomtranslates to further dilution of an arts students education. How muchemphasis is placed on these skills is largely determined by the generalobjectives of the individual schools.

In the 1997 conference report Teaching Art & Design in the 21st Century,organized by the Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design, a listwas made in order to identify what “outcomes” schools should aim for wheneducating art students. They grouped this list into two categories, student skillsand student attributes:

Student Skills:

• Visualization (drawing, etc.)• Communication skills (written, oral, and visual)• Discipline-based techniques• Historical and cultural perspectives

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• Research skills• Knowledge of business practices• Ability to collaborate

Student Attributes:

• Global perspective• Self-learner, a self-starter• Risk taking• Cross-disciplinary approach• Sense of social, professional, and ethical responsibility• Personal voice• Advancing the profession• Integration of ideas• Ability to incorporate new ideas, tools and technologies (25)

This list of skills and attributes shows that the AICAD recognizes that a wellrounded arts education is more than just technical and conceptual, it is alsopractical. Professional skills, although non-job and non-art specific, are keytransferable abilities that prepare students for adaptability and flexibility in artscareers.

While the transition for arts students from school to the workforce can bedifficult, many institutions of higher education offer resources and programsthat aim to make this shift easier, including career service centers, careercounseling, advising, mentoring, and professional development courses. Still,many students leave school feeling unprepared and lacking generalprofessional skills. At the Symposium, Ray Allen, President of MarylandInstitute College of Art, spoke about the integration of professionaldevelopment opportunities throughout the curriculum at MICA. Instead ofassuming that students take advantage of the resources at the school’s careersupport center, MICA now aims to make these resources accessible tostudents within arts curriculum.

Although more and more arts programs are emphasizing the teaching of suchskills, there is still too little discussion on what professional skills are needed forarts students to emerge from higher education with the confidence, experience,and knowledge necessary to pursue a successful professional career in thearts. By focusing on a few of the professional skills addressed repeatedlywithin readings and at the symposium, we can better understand theimportance of teaching these skills in the arts curriculum and further theconversation on how these skills should be taught.

Coloring Your World: Multiple Means of Communicating

Color (k l r) 1 To give a distinctive character or quality to 2 The ability for artsstudents to clearly express themselves through written, verbal, and visualcommunication

At the symposium, multiple conversations highlighted the importance of strongcommunication skills. Communication skills are a fundamental component of asuccessful professional career in the arts. Artists must promote themselves

Graduates of art schoolshave long complained thatthey were never taught howto support themselves asartists. It is time for artprograms to take theirconcerns seriously andreduce students’ isolationfrom the real world(Grant, 1998, p. B8).

But if there was just oneclass, something, maybejust a two hour thing whereyou met and talked aboutpractical things. At schoolthey just acted like all of uswere supposed to show upat some big gallery and askto be shown. That’s nothow it works. You have tostart at a small gallery first,you know, if even that, andat the same time assist anestablished photographer.– Jennifer, SojournTheatre’s Transition

If they required Englishclasses linked to yourmajor, I don’t know, grantwriting or a press release,instead of silly papers thatthe instructor chooses forus to write- that would havebeen helpful. –Jono, Sojourn Theatre’sTransition

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and effectively communicate their ideas through spoken, written, and visualform. According to the briefing paper, Guiding the Arts Student: AcademicAdvising, Career Counseling, and Mentoring, author Catharine SentmanAnderson states that “artists have generally chosen a means of communicationother than the written or spoken word; some artists find the word a difficultmedium” (1995, p. 5). During the Symposium, Margaret Wyszomirski, Directorof the Arts Policy and Administration program at the Ohio State University,emphasized the importance of strong communication skills amidst falseassumptions that artistic work speaks for itself.

• Do arts students have specific communication needs that can only beaddressed through arts-specific courses?

• How should written, verbal, and visual communication skills be taughtwithin arts curriculum?

While communications courses are often categorized by institutions as generaleducation requirements, we must decide whether or not these general classesare specialized enough to teach the communication skills arts students needfor the 21st century.

Line and Structure: Critical Thinking and Research Skills

Line (l n) 1: sequence of related things that leads to a certain ending 2: Theability for an arts student to conduct research in order to accomplish a set goal

Structure (str k ch r) 1: The way in which parts are arranged or put together toform a whole 2: The interrelation or arrangement of parts in a complex entity 3:The ability for an arts student to think critically

During the symposium, great emphasis was placed upon cultivating the abilityof arts students to read and think critically. Artists must be able to think in avariety of ways, not only about aesthetic issues but career and professionalissues as well. Furthermore, they must be able to apply these thinking skills toboth their art form and their lives. Critical thinking skills include the capacity forlogical and analytical thinking, such as decision-making, problem solving, andthe overall capacity to communicate creative ideas.

Much like critical thinking skills, research skills are essential to practicingartists. As arts students enter the workforce, they must be prepared to researchand identify where and how their talents are needed and how they will continueto grow and develop as an artist. The Symposium discussed the range from“casual to true research” as well as research skills to promote lifelong learning.

• How can a thirst for knowledge and growth be instilled in students thatwill carry them beyond their degree?

• What is the appropriate learning environment for critical thinking andresearch skills?

Forming Connections: Collaboration Skills

Jobs, jobs, jobs. Myprogram was toovocational. We should betaught to enhance ourcritical thinking skills, topull from different areas, soyou don’t just think, “Howdo I get a job.” Thatcrushes creativity.– Hannah, SojournTheatre’s Transition

Can I choose projects thatare meaningful?– Bobby, Sojourn Theatre’sTransition

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Connections (k -n k sh n) 1: Reference or relation to something else; anassociation or relationship 2: The use of collaboration skills to establishmeaningful work and relationships

Today, artists are “outside the box” contributors to various fields. Thechallenge of creating a collaborative skill set is the complexity of collaborationwithin the arts. Students need to learn to collaborate at different levels withindividuals, among arts disciplines, and across diverse academic subjectareas. Panelists and audience members at the Symposium frequently spokeabout collaboration as a positive experience for all art students. Throughcollaboration, professors and students from around the university or across thecountry and world can share ideas, strategies, and tools with one another.Interdisciplinary learning is key to collaboration and can be effective in bridginguniversity disciplines and integrating the university learning community. One ofthe benefits of an interdisciplinary education in the arts is that it prepares artsstudents for performing a wider range of jobs in the current context where thecombination of technical, creative, and business (management) skills isrequired in the new creative sector.

• How do you teach collaboration while also training young artists to findtheir own voice and identity?

• How are projects and courses developed to encourage collaborationrather than just group work?

• How is success defined in collaborative projects?

• How can visual artists learn about collaboration form performingartists?

Shaping Your Passion: Self-Management Skills

Shape (sh p) 1: Something distinguished from its surroundings by its outline 2:The presentation of an art student’s best self

During the symposium, issues of self-management, self-sufficiency, and self-motivation were critical topics. Besides the acquisition of artistic techniques,the new generation of artists needs to gain self-management skills in order tobe self-sustainable and promote lifelong learning. Artists must have basicbusiness skills pertaining to management, marketing and promotion,distribution, and the protection of intellectual property rights. The nextgeneration of artists must not only know how to find a job but how to create ajob; how to build a career both artistically and professionally and how to be anengaged member of their local community and to recognize and advance theirown interests in the public arena. In the article Managing Your Career in the21st Century, author Lee Hecht Harrison states that “over the next decade,organizations will increasingly consist of people who can design and managetheir own careers” (4). With this in mind, we must look at the role of theuniversity in developing well-informed art students who can develop a plan ofaction to pursue their individual career goals.

• How can arts students learn to promote themselves without “sellingout” or “selling their souls”?

They taught us how to puttogether a portfolio – theydidn’t teach us what to dowith that portfolio.– Kimberley, SojournTheatre’s Transition

Success in the knowledgeeconomy comes to thosewho know themselves –their strengths, their values,and how they best perform(Drucker, 1999, p. 65).

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• How can art students connect to the art world outside of the university?

Although some of the highlighted skills may seem like common sense aspectsof university art curriculum, the majority of arts students feel incompetent inthese areas and are looking for ways to enhance these skills. Since artprograms in higher education are as varied as the abilities and needs of theirentering students, there is not one prescription for all arts students orinstitutions in the teaching of professional skills. It is vital for arts programs tobe aligned with an institution’s philosophy of success and for institutions toclearly define what professional skills and experiences are necessary forsuccess in the new economy.

Since professionalism and success are subjective concepts, it is important todefine these terms as they relate to the methods used by individual institutionsto prepare their graduates for the workforce. More importantly, institutionsmust decide what skills should be taught, why they are important, and wherethey fit into university art curriculum. Once these skills are identified, a plan ofaction must be developed to incorporate and balance them within artscurriculum.

Composition: Orchestrating Change

Composition (käm-p_-'zi-sh_n) 1: a product of mixing or combining variouselements or ingredients 3: blending the arts into formal education

By being included as an academic area, it is implied that formal artists can bedeveloped and that they need an education, a clear distinction from the formerphilosophy that artists were born, innately talented, creative and artisticindividuals. This shift elevates the arts from being considered a traditional craftto something based on theory, formally recognizing the arts as a significantdiscipline, equivalent to the sciences or humanities. However, this also meansthat the arts are incorporated into educational infrastructures established forthese other disciplines. Hence, the length of time a degree is awarded in, howand where classes meet, who teaches, and how work is assessed are alreadystandard. And while the arts should be valued the same as these othersubjects, questions are raised as to whether or not they can be taught thesame way.

Proportion: So Much to Teach, So Little Time

Proportion (pr_-‘p_r- sh_n) 1: harmonious relation of parts to each other or tothe whole 2: finding ways to teach it all

Richard Durst, Executive Director of the International Council of Fine Art Deansand Dean of Pennsylvania State University’s College of Arts and Architecture,discussed the ever-changing nature of arts education in comparison to otherdisciplines at the Symposium. He illustrated this point by contrastingadvancements in the arts with those in medicine: in medicine, research resultsin a cure and then a new problem is tackled, while in the arts, there is no cure

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or definite answer so experimentation always continues and is additive. GailGregg also noted during her keynote address that universities will find itincreasingly difficult to expose students to much of what the arts offer, as theart world has grown in diversity as well as size and suggests an inherent needto specialize. This sentiment was echoed by Bill Barrett, Executive Director ofthe Association of Independent Colleges of Art & Design (AICAD), during apanel on issues and trends. Rather than a duality that requires a choice,Barrett perceives it as an issue of compromise: old and new, traditional andcontemporary. Hence, the role of the institution should be to foster variousintelligences, since no one student or institution can “know it all.”

• Within the time constraints of a degree program, is it realistic to expectstudents to mature and improve their talents and passions in one artform or many while also cultivating an understanding of social science,politics, journalism, social history and culture?

• Some art colleges specialize in areas, thereby carving a niche forthemselves. Should this be the wave of the future?

• How might new information be incorporated into the universityexperience without the addition of another course? How mightfostering interdisciplinary studies ease the burden of degreeprograms?

Symmetry: University Life versus the “Real World”

Symmetry (‘si-m_-tr_) 1: balanced proportions 2: balancing creative freedomand aspirations with realistic perspectives

Life in a university is often viewed as something other than life in the “realworld,” no matter what course of study is undertaken. Many artists testify tothe rude awakening that occurs when the comforts of school are gone and billshave to be paid. Denney Griffith, President of Columbus College of Art andDesign, made the astute observation during the symposium that students oftensuffer from the “fifteen minute syndrome”—fifteen minutes after they graduatethey wish they would have taken more business and management courses.

• Can guest lecturers, visiting artists, and practitioners introduce the“real world” to university students?

• Students will not necessarily realize they need self management andcommunication skills until after they are on their own. Shouldprograms require students to take courses they may not appreciate orcould these types of skills be subtly integrated throughout a degreeprogram?

• Often times our peers are capable of influencing us most effectively;how might universities develop creative ways to allow recent graduatesto impress upon current students the importance of such courses?

Unity: Mission to Motion

“There needed to be astronger internshipcomponent, we neededmore real worldexperience. My internshipwas at the Columbussymphony. It was 3months long.That’s nothing”(Sojourn Theatre, 2004).

“At Art Center we want todevelop among ourstudents an awareness ofthe larger world aroundthem,’ Koshalek [Presidentof the Art Center Collegeof Design in Pasadena, CA]says. But that doesn’t justmean unleashing thestudents on the world—italso means welcoming theworld into the school”(Chang, 2003).

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Unity (‘yü-n_-t_) 1: a totality of related parts: an entity that is a complex orsystematic whole 2: organizational culture

Lack of a uniform vision creates difficulties for planning curricula, as how artistsare educated hinges on what their educators understand this definition to be.Institutions must continually evaluate their mission, goals, and programs tomeet the demands of both students and the workforce so faculty membershave to be prepared to address these changing needs. By clarifying teachingmissions and educational philosophies for faculty and in-coming students, ahealthy and honest educational atmosphere can be maintained. However,making curriculum changes is often easy in comparison to motivating theindividuals’ who have to implement this change for it to be effective. As aguest speaker during the course corresponding to the symposium, Bill Barrett,Executive Director of AICAD, said that one of the major realizations fromcomparing the 1966 and 1997 AICAD conference reports was that it is easierto change the curriculum of a program than it is to actually gets schools toactivate and implement the process of changing the curriculum.

• How is a program’s definition of the arts established and thencommunicated to faculty and students? How is this definition allowedto evolve?

• What incentives and rewards are provided for faculty in support ofinnovative approaches to institutional change?

• How can an institution support and promote adaptability?

Texture: Adapting to Change

Texture (‘teks-ch_r) 1: something composed of closely interwoven elements 2:educating artists within changing social and economic environments

Even though university life and the “real world” are sometimes discussed asdichotomous, real world influences play a vital role on how a universityfunctions, and the education of artists is no exception. As institutions reassessin the 21st Century, new challenges and opportunities have developed fromshifting social and economic trends. These factors influence not only how aninstitution functions but also what it teaches.

Expanding Dimensions: New Opportunities and Challenges

Expansion (ik-‘spán(t)-sh_n) 1: the act or process of expanding 2: shift fromfine arts to creative sector

Rapid technological advancements have created a smaller world, makingglobal politics and economics increasingly important factors in today’s world.Globalization has not only allowed us to connect in new ways with people allover the world but has also provided new business opportunities for artistsabroad and at home. The result has been a shift in how creative professionsare viewed. No longer are artists limited to traditional roles in the fine arts as

“There is a need to createstructures that allow for theeasy flow of ideas,initiatives and respect.”–Karen Bell, Dean of theCollege of the Arts, TheOhio State University

“The artist is both theobject and the subject ofuniversity training…foridentity—the identity ofartists—is what isconstructed in and by andthrough the discipline”(Singerman, 1999).

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the new model of the creative sector offers boundless possibilities in the non-profit sector, the commercial sector, and portions of industries relying heavilyon creation, such as advertising. Today’s creative workforce includestraditional artists, arts administrators and arts educators as well asnontraditionally “creative” occupations such as intellectual property lawyers,arts therapists and agents.

• How might students be encouraged to take advantage of theopportunities globalization presents?

• How can degree programs reflect the expanded definition of what itmeans to be an artist?

Authentic Accomplishments: Knowing Artistic Rights

Authenticity (_-‘then-‘ti-s_-t_) 1: to prove or serve to prove the authenticity 2:establishing intellectual property rights

“The creative sector is emerging as a leading edge sector…that produces andcapitalizes on the new natural resources of the 21st Century: intellectualproperty and knowledge/information content” (Wyszomirski, 2003). It istherefore easy to deduce that, for the creators of content to reap monetarybenefits and recognition from their discoveries and creations, copyright lawsmust be in effect and sanctions must exist to protect them. As we already knowfrom illegal pirating of films and music, advances in technology aresimultaneously creating new opportunities for cultivation of intellectual propertyand being utilized by vandals to subvert the system. As ideas and informationbecome increasingly valuable so, too, has the ability to legally protect thiscontent through copyright laws.

• Should arts students be taught about intellectual property rights inorder to protect their artistic products as well as the work of others?

• How might intellectual property issues affect the nature of collaborationand inter-cultural work?

Success in the 21st Century

Success (s_k-‘ses) 1: favored or desired outcome: the attainment of wealth,favor, or eminence 2: student and/or parental demand for return on investment

An increasing pressure on universities results from the growing cost ofeducation, as parents and students want to know what outcomes they canexpect from a degree in the arts. Traditionally there have been thedichotomies of the starving artist and the star artist models. In reality, successcan be redefined within the creative sector to include a wider range ofpossibilities.

• How should an institution define and measure success—In terms ofstudent skill set? In terms of student performance? In terms of post-

[Art] students are not goingto get jobs. They are goingto make them. - SimonPenny, Professor of Artsand Engineering,University of California atIrvine

Art should have a largeworld view—we are livingin a global society so weneed to recognize that andembrace it. - WayneLawson, ExecutiveDirector, Ohio ArtsCouncil

The M.F.A. is the newM.B.A.(Pink, 2004, p. 21-22).

It is unrealistic andinauthentic to presume thatthere is only one way to bean artist…artists, at thistime, are working in manydifferent ways, with manymeasures of success andaccomplishment...thechallenge for students is toask themselves what theirgoals are and how toachieve them (Becker,1999, p. 11-14 ).

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graduation performance—as measured by job placement, awards orfinancial gains?

• What are student definitions of and expectations for success? Whatservices will be available to assist students in bridging gaps betweentheir expectations/standards and the institutions?

• Another concern for the arts community and universities is thatgalleries have begun “cherry picking” students from M.F.A. programs.This has changed the atmosphere of the learning environment fromcollegiate to competitive, as students vie to have their works selectedfrom amongst their peers by the nation’s leading dealers. How canuniversities continue to serve as a laboratory where students can testtheir ideas and follow their whims, when many students want to followa marketable concept?

Finding Harmony: Less Talk, More Action

Harmony (‘här-m_-n_) 1: a pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts 2:finding a rhythm

During a panel on the second day of the symposium, APA Program Director,Margaret Wyszomirski sought to summarize, synthesize and draw out theimplications of the prior days discussions and presentations. She noted thatthe changes symposium speakers had alluded to could be encapsulated in oneshort but densely packed statement. Educating artists means not only teachingthem technique and how to develop a unique creative voice. It must also leadthem to see themselves as part of a larger creative sector working in achanging eco-system.

An Example in the Making

Cultivating this perspective among the next generation of arts administratorsand cultural policy-makers has become one of the guiding principles of the ArtsPolicy and Administration Program and is influencing the Program’s continuingevolution. We hope that our efforts will help inform those training future artistsas well as young artists themselves of the changing and broadening range ofjob and career opportunities that artists can pursue in the new economy. As aresult of the 2003 and 2004 symposia, the APA-OSU program now has a teamof MA and PhD students doing "market research" and field research to designan undergraduate course in arts management for undergraduates. Not onlywill this project result in a course that can inform the self-management ofstudents interested in the arts, but it will give the involved graduate studentsboth an experience in curriculum development and, when launched, a relevantopportunity to gain teaching experience. Indeed, the APA Program wasestablished as an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Department of ArtEducation in the College of the Arts and the School of Public Policy andManagement. Philosophically and embodied in its regular and adjunct faculty,the APA Program has aimed to maintain open lines of communication betweenresearch, practice and policy. For example on the policy dimension, the APA

In art it’s not about givingthe right answer it’s aboutasking the right question. -Simon Penny, Professor ofArts and Engineering,University of California atIrvine

Today’s students…expect(and need) their degree‘investments’ to pay offwith successful careers inthe fine arts or relatedfields. An M.F.A. at a topschool now can cost morethan $50,000 for tuitionalone, and the balance onsizable student loans awaitsmost graduates. Studentsincreasingly see theirM.F.A. programs as‘finishing schools,’ in thewords of one facultymember, where they can‘get their act together in aslick enough way thatthey’re launched (Gregg,2004).

Success is when artists arestill engaged and passionateabout their art twenty yearsafter graduation.- Karen Bell, Dean of theCollege of the Arts, TheOhio State University

At their best, the arts are acreative test bed where thebest of the past is combinedwith the openness of thepresent to produce thetransformation of the new(Tusa, 2003).

Every day that I've spent asa 'professional artist'--everyday is asking yourself"do I still really want to dothis?" That can beexhausting. I believe thisfield needs people like me.I love what I do. I’m justnot sure I came out ofschool with enoughstrategies to fight thatexhaustion. But I’mtrying. Every day, I’mtrying. – Hannah, SojournTheatre’s Transition

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Program is engaged in an on-going partnership with the Ohio Arts Council thatinvolves its Executive Director, Prof. Wayne Lawson as an adjunct facultymember, collaboration on public programs, cross-fertilization between OACand APA-OSU on international projects, and research and planning activities.

In recognition of the need for a more sectoral perspective, the APA Program ispursuing a number of changes:

• Changing the program name from Arts Policy and Administration toCultural Policy and Arts Administration

• Converting the special issues course of the 2003 symposium seminarto a regular graduate seminar on the Creative Sector and the CulturalWorkforce"

• Encouraging students to pursue thesis and dissertation research thatexplores aspects of the creative sector’s infrastructure such ascopyright law and rights managements; agents, curators andpresenters as cultural brokers and intermediaries; cultural philanthropy,marketing and entrepreneurship; and support systems for artists

• Seeking to build new collaborative programs and projects with otherparts of the OSU campus to address other parts of the creative sector. These include the Center for Folklore Studies on issues of heritagepolicy and cultural identity; the Law School on copyright and culturalproperty issues; faculty in the Department of Journalism andCommunications on issues and economics of commercial culture andon analytical methods concerning cultural meaning. We would alsolike to develop collaborations with the Fisher School of Business sostudents can develop more sophisticated tools to manage the businessof the arts.

To better understand the eco-system in which the creative sector operates, theAPA Program at OSU extends the interdisciplinary and societal approach ofthe Art Education Department by cultivating an understanding of theimplications of economic, political technological and demographic changes. Itis also working to integrate a more global approach through internationalcollaborations (e.g. with an arts administration program in Taiwan), by cross-national exploration of cultural policy and arts administration concerns andpractices involving a large contingent of foreign graduate students enrolled inthe Program, and by developing course offerings in globalization and the arts,and comparative cultural policy. On- Campus, the Program is an activeparticipant in CIRIT, especially its sub-committee on international cooperationand conflict. A team of APA graduate students played an important part in acollaborative research project sponsored by the Center for Arts and Culture inWashington, DC that produced a comparative study of the cultural diplomacyefforts of nine countries. Finally, the APA Program and its students areinvolved in an ongoing effort to build a pioneering database of professional andtrade associations that serve and represent the creative sector. Called theAssociational Infrastructure Project, this initiative has involved students inresearch and case studies that have been published. It has attracted outsidefunding from institutions such as the Ford Foundation and the Aspen Institute. It has spurred the development of a new graduate seminar in cultural advocacyand service organizations and recently prompted a partnership with Americansfor the Arts in Washington, DC.In short, this 2004 Barnett Symposium is informing the evolution of the APAProgram at OSU by reinforcing and clarifying basic principles:

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• The cultivation of collaboration and mutual respect among artists, artsadministrators, arts educators, and cultural policymakers

• The necessity of inter-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary approaches

• The fostering of dialogue among research, practice and policy

• The effort to see and understand the creative sector as a whole, and

• An appreciation of how the creative sector and its members areinfluenced and affected by its surrounding economic, social,technological and political environment

Just as arts education programs are concerned with adapting the training ofartists to new and changing realities, programs that train those who manageartists and arts organizations as well as those who design and administercultural policies must also adapt. The challenges of envisioning andimplementing such changes is well captured by a statement that concluded arecent report by the Cultural Human Resources Council (CHRC) in Canadacalled Creating Careers:

Jobs in the cultural sector are the result of creating something out ofnothing, making sounds into stories, lines into meaning, motion intopattern, vibrations into music, artifacts into insights,…[are all theresults of individuals working in the cultural sector. Thus, improvingthe capacities of that workforce is…] key to the sector’s future. Thismeans developing the individual and also developing the sector’sability to manage itself, to create, to produce, to market, to reflect andto re-create. (Cheney Research Inc, 1995:26)

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