The MFA in Arts Management

Arts administration/management (AA/M) has evolved to the point of emerging as a mature academic field, increasingly institutionalized within higher education and demanding a larger and more highly credentialed faculty. Examining Master of Fine Arts (MFA) AA/M programs in North America, this brief study asks whether the MFA can serve as the viable credential for academically trained arts managers. The analysis suggests that no consensus about which advanced degree best reflects academic expertise relevant to all components of the field has been reached and that standards remain too unclear for the MFA to serve as a viable credential across artistic disciplines.     

Democratic Practices in Arts Organizations

This article uses democratic political theory to compare three types of arts management practices. When art is treated as an elite status good, it is likely to have antidemocratic effects that largely reproduce status hierarchies. When art is treated as an exclusive group identity good, as in the case of identity politics, it is likely to contribute to democracy by giving voice to marginalized groups. Finally, when art is treated as an inclusive social good, it is likely to contribute to democracy by producing solidarity and encouraging commonality. The article concludes by encouraging an ecological approach that fosters multiple voices and multiple goals.     

Arts Organizations and Branding: Creating a New Joint Brand for Three Arts Organizations

This article investigates brand architecture by analyzing stakeholder perceptions of brand images when a new joint brand is created for the existing brands of three arts organizations. The theoretical framework is based on previous literature on brand architecture and brand image. The empirical study is based on a quantitative, 418-respondent survey among stakeholders of these three arts organizations. The study makes two major theoretical contributions. First, the results show that the new joint brand can be endorsed by the existing sub-brands, contrary to brand-architecture literature. Second, even in the case of a new brand, stakeholders perceive the functional attributes as important.