WSJ: The Juilliard School, the Berklee College of Music in Boston and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music have embraced programs or courses aimed at developing students' business acumen alongside their artistic skill. Entrepreneurship is also a hot topic in courses at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, while the certificate program in design entrepreneurship at Pratt Institute of New York has been in such high demand that the school is expanding the program to accommodate more students.
7 comments:
Though I am all for the knowledge of the 'Biz' as discussed in this article I think it is only fair to also examine the opposite. The article does represent great points such as the statement that the focus on one's craft alone will not suffice. This is true but not in the way that Polisi defines. I think as an artist one should be very knowledgeable however the extreme preference over the business side of things takes away from the art and makes it a cash business. As artists we are not a grocery store whose focus is on the profit. Of course to stay subsistent money has to be accrued but it is of my opinion that the preference over business to the art is a negative one that will eventually lead to a degradation in artist creativity, expansiveness, and well being.
This article stood out to me because my dad always talks about how one of the aspects that makes RISD a successful school for art and design is the focus on business. They don't just train artists, they train working artists. In some ways, I do think it would be nice to be able to just study fine arts without any concern for how that could become a career. But currently, it is completely impractical to attend a college or university just for the purpose of growing as an artist. Of course, it is a viable option to support one's artistic aspirations while working in an unrelated field, but to me it is a better option to be able to find a way where you can make a career working in what you have studied. My cousin studied music at Berklee a few years back, and I think her education may have been more valuable had these new programs been in place back then.
I 100% agree with this article and a few points that Sydney touched upon in her comment. While it would be great to just be able to take a course in art and learn about becoming an artist without really thinking about being marketable or making a career out of it, it is not entirely practical. Unfortunately in the world we live in it is incredibly difficult to be an up and coming artist and have a successful career right off the bat. Classes in business and entrepreneurship could be extremely useful to anybody, not just artists, for it helps them to promote themselves and potentially make a living doing what they love.
This article reminds me of something that my dad once told me about art school, that schools only really prepare an artist for success. The faults in the curriculum are that students are not taught how to actually make money and market oneself. It is VERY rare that someone is just launched right into fame as soon as they get out of school. I believe that students need to know about money. How to make money, how to budget money, how to save and invest, etc, etc... I personally am going into a field that is more technical and higher in demand than say many visual or music artists, but I still try and work in classes that will help me with money in the future into my curriculum and it is great that other schools are trying to work in those types of classes. In fact the entrepreneurial aspects of these programs is something that I wish was more a part of our school.
While most young people certainly do not go into the arts to make money, I think this article brings up the idea that the best artists today are those who create their art with the business world in mind. I am interested to hear from the students at the schools mentioned in the article. I wonder if the students feel as if their art is gaining more depth by taking on this new perspective, or if, on the contrary, it is taking a hit. As someone who worked this summer in two different commercial, but artistic and creative settings, I think the work that these fine arts programs are doing is crucial to the ever-changing, technological and entrepreneurial world we live in.
I’m honestly surprised the CMU SOD does not require some business classes. Even if it were just one or two, it would make a vast difference for a lot of people. Every business class I have taken has helped me to understand management more, and at the very least having an accounting class or something similar within the school of drama would be incredibly helpful. I know we are cramped in terms of scheduling but a business class would make a great replacement for something like Global Histories, which I am sure could be a useful course if it was taught well. But it is not. And on the other side of business I have not taken any entrepreneur classes, but I would like to. I understand that in theater it is a little less practical but I still think it would be a helpful addition to the curriculum.
I am so happy that this is becoming a trend in arts education and I hope that the School of Drama gets on board soon. No matter what you study in college, it is extremely important that you understand how make money using what you learned. As many of the other commenters pointed out, it be great to be able to go to school and just focus on improving your art, but graduating and trying to start a career without any sense of how money works in your industry, will make it nearly impossible to thrive in the real world.
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