I want to be an Arts Administrator?

When asked as a child: what do you want to be when you grow up? I highly doubt I said "I want to be an Arts Administrator!" although I can't remember exactly what my answer was, I am sure Arts Administrator was not it; specially since it wasn't until I was an Arts Administrator myself that I discovered what that meant. Call me clueless, but in spite of my courses in Fine Arts and Art History, and my self professed love for all things art, I had no idea that there were all kinds of people "behind the scenes" helping to make the art happen. To me arts was about the artist and the artist alone, and boy was I wrong.

I know, it was naive of me to assume a production fundraised for itself, kept its on budget and did its on marketing, but the business of art and what happens after art school was not a course offered at my school. In fact, artists (all mediums included) are expected to master their art and concern themselves only with artistic greatness, and although this is wonderful, it does a poor job at preparing you for the real world of art where resources are sparse and competition is though.

This "gap" in knowledge is filled everyday by Arts Administrators; some are accidental art administrators, who in search of an artistic "in" found themselves enjoying the daily organizational tasks, others are professionals in a different field who slowly discovered love for the arts and found that giving their expertise was the best way to help support them. Regardless of how someone went about becoming one, Art Administrators are the backbone of Arts organizations; without their incredible support, and creative resourcefulness (lets face it, if non-profit administrators are known for their ability to maximize limited resources: arts + non-profit = the MacGyvers of administrators) many of the art productions we love and care deeply for would not be possible.

However, in spite of their pivotal role, Arts Administrators are still the unsung heroes of the arts (hence why I was unaware this was even a career choice). But how can we stress the importance of Arts Administrators specially when it is the names of the artists, performers, curators, and artistic directors which attract the audience?

Although I don't have an answer or expect to find one anytime soon, I am happy to see that awareness on the field of Arts Administration is on the rise. I am glad that there are programs devoting themselves to prepare great administrators and not only great artists like the excellent MBA program offered by the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at UW Madison (one I'm hoping to attend fall 11'); I am delighted to hear vocal Arts Administration advocates like Michael Keiser, and I am also inspired every time I browse Douglas Mclennan's comprehensive blog ArtsJournal.

Two years ago Arts Administration choose me, and without formal training I've been learning as many of us do, on the go and making mistakes along the way. This field is full of challenges, and much like Art it needs to constantly assert is place in the world; and what better way to assert one's place, share ideas, questions, resources and plain old venting than a blog.

Here is to you my fellow Magical Elves; thank you, for writing the grants, managing the donations, balancing the budgets, keeping the records, and doing all those "small" tasks that keep the arts alive. Here is to loving what you do; because I truly can't imagine anything else I'd rather do when I grow up. I want to be an Arts Administrator!