Engaged in place: Arts Administration alumni leading work in the region
The Master of Arts Administration (MAA) in OHIO鈥檚 Chaddock + Morrow College of Fine Arts prepares passionate, qualified artist-administrators to meet the challenges of the evolving field. The MAA amplifies the importance of building relationships and working with our communities, partnering with arts and culture organizations across the globe through its student mentorship, innovative curriculum, assignments, and placement in the Professional Internship in the Arts. The internship provides a high-quality learning experience for the MAA students but also supports numerous non-profit organizations through meaningful support of their mission and work in their communities.
MAA alumni rely on these professional experiences and networks as a springboard to work in the field, with some choosing to stay in the Athens region and contribute to the local arts ecosystem. Four MAA alumni, one from each graduating cohort, cite strong local partnerships as crucial building blocks in their current roles and ability to make unique contributions in the region.
Building employer partnerships + networks
Lacy Davis (MAA 鈥22, MFA Photography + Integrated Media 鈥23) works as the education director for the Athens Photo Project. The Athens Photo Project is a nonprofit organization that uses photography as a tool for self-expression, personal growth, and social change on the mental health recovery journey.
鈥淭he MAA program has been instrumental in building the professional network that I rely on in my career,鈥 she said.
Davis held a community work study position while in the MAA as a gallery assistant, gaining experience at the Dairy Barn Arts Center. She initially connected with Dairy Barn through a fundraising assignment and later pursued the job, which allowed her to connect with their stakeholders. This role, alongside the MAA coursework, prepared her well for her current position.
鈥淢y involvement with Athens Photo Project [also] began through assignments and activities in the program, helping me get to know the organization and its mission well,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淲hen the position of education director became available, the director reached out to me to see if I might be interested, recognizing the relationships I had built and the capabilities I had communicated through case study projects.鈥
Preparation + leadership acumen
Maggie Kersten (MAA 鈥24, MA Community Dance 鈥24) shared that these kinds of connections are not rare in the program. Kersten is the creative director at Factory Street Studio, a dance studio offering educational programming to community members of all ages.
鈥淒uring my time in graduate school, I started building a life here and knew that this is where I belonged,鈥 Kersten said of her relationship to both Athens and the studio itself.
Kersten said the MAA program was a professional 鈥渢urning point.鈥
鈥淚 was learning things that would have taken years to learn if I was solely in the workforce. Taking classes on arts management, learning how to run a nonprofit financially and responsibly, and meeting leaders in the arts administration field all prepared me for taking on my role as creative director.鈥
Curricular training + creative problem solving
The coursework in the MAA covers fundraising and budgeting, business modeling, case-study analysis of non-profits and the navigation of real-world challenges in the field. Covering current trends and engaging in scenario-based learning contribute to alumni success.
鈥淚 apply the skills learned in the MAA program every day in the office,鈥 said Devin Sudman (MAA 鈥21). 鈥淏udgeting, community engagement and marketing strategies are all skills that were taught to me that I utilize in my work.鈥
Sudman is the director of education at Stuart鈥檚 Opera House,
鈥淭he projects and discussions that I had during the MAA not only gave me a realistic understanding of what [the] role of an arts administrator might be, but it also allowed me to dream and get creative on what an arts administrator can be and how it can make direct positive contributions in the community.鈥
This aligns with his work at Stuart鈥檚, whose mission is to be a regional leader in the arts community, a center for public expression and an economic development partner for Southeastern Ohio.
New ways of thinking + problem solving
Amanda de Santos (MAA 鈥23) shared that the MAA provides day-to-day usefulness and visioning for the future. De Santos is the executive director of the Ohio Valley Museum of Discovery (OVMoD).
鈥淎lmost every day, I rely on my MAA coursework in some capacity or another,鈥 she said. 鈥淢aybe it was a discussion we had in class, a nugget of wisdom Christi [Camper Moore] mentioned, or a technical piece of information from a reading鈥t鈥檚 all being used somehow.鈥
OVMoD is a new museum in Athens, activating STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) principles to inspire confidence in people of all ages to explore and discover the world.
鈥淭he MAA program gave me countless resources and opened my eyes to different ways of thinking about everyday problems in the nonprofit world,鈥 de Santos said.
Enhancing the alumni network + staying local
Since launching in 2020, more than seventy students have graduated from the MAA program. As the alumni network continues to grow, the MAA also continues to expand and deepen partnerships with internship partners and employers to identify the education and needed skills to inform curricular planning. In addition, regional arts organizations also benefit from the program鈥檚 approach to forming connections through experiential learning.
鈥淲hat I found wonderful about my time in the MAA was that my cohort and I were genuinely there for each other, and through that we discovered that we developed a network for the future, a network that we can rely on when we were activated in our roles after graduating,鈥 Sudman said. 鈥淚 can't tell you how many times I have relied on a fellow graduate of the program to seek advice or ask about the status of the arts in the community to help inform the work I am doing.鈥
The MAA maintains a robust connection with alumni whether they stay in Athens or relocate after graduating.
鈥淚 chose to stay in Athens because of the meaningful connections I had developed with the local arts community, both personally and professionally,鈥 Davis said. 鈥淭he relationships I built during my studies have been key to my ability to grow in my role and contribute effectively to the community.鈥
Kersten鈥檚 commitment to the local arts community is her reason for staying in town.
鈥淚 decided to stay in Athens because I have seen firsthand how dance and the arts can make a difference in someone's life, and I wanted to be able to provide that for the students of Factory Street Studio,鈥 she said.
De Santos cited similar reasons for staying in the area.
鈥淎s a lifelong Athenian, I wanted to stay in town because it鈥檚 my home and it鈥檚 where I belong right now,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e are blessed with a rich nonprofit network in Athens and a lot of passionate community members.鈥
Sudman lived in Athens for nearly a decade before joining the MAA program.
鈥淚 decided to join the program [to] better assist the vibrant organizations that already exist in our region,鈥 he said. 鈥淏eing activated as the education director at Stuart's Opera House has allowed me to continue my passions as an artist and educator all while collaborating with our local community partners to strategize on what the future of our community looks like and how we can get there together.鈥
The MAA is preparing students to meet the evolving needs of the field, and alumni of the program continue to contribute to arts prosperity in the region and within their respective communities. Camper Moore noted, 鈥淭hrough our network of MAA alumni, internship organizations, and engaged partners, we are working to contribute in ways that support and strengthen the arts and culture sector for years to come.鈥