Arts Management Program

About Our Past Students:

Click here to read about some of our Alumni.

Lauren White will take up her new position as Director of Development, Kirkland Arts Center, Seattle Washington in June 2008.

Lauren joined the program with interest in both contemporary art and marketing.  Having worked in both nonprofit and commercial art galleries, she was looking to deepen her understanding of how the arts operate in society.  After researching graduate programs in arts administration across the country, she chose the Arts Management program at UB because she felt it offered an interdisciplinary education in cultural policy, museum studies, and nonprofit and traditional business strategies.   Since joining the program, Lauren has written grants for the Buffalo Arts Studio and she co-wrote and produced the documentary From Preservation to Production: A Study of Art Firm Models in the South of France.  She currently holds two internships in marketing and public relations at the Playhouse of American Classics and at the integrated marketing firm, Travers Collins & Co.  She is currently working on her thesis on the branding of contemporary art museums.

“In my experience, the most impressive aspect of this program has been the way in which it focuses on arts management locally, nationally and internationally.  We’ve had the opportunity to study in the South of France, and we’ve had several influential scholars from across the globe give lectures here in Buffalo.  At the same time, we’ve met with (and worked with) leaders of arts organizations in Western New York.  It has been really incredible to feel like you are not only becoming a part of the arts in the local community, but that you are a part of a larger, global network of arts professionals and scholars.   As a student, the program has provided a tremendous learning experience, but it has also been a source of personal growth.”  

Carrie Beth Wicks is Director of Development at the Irish Classical Theatre Company, Buffalo, NY .  

Carrie Beth Wicks sought out the Arts Management program after eight years experience working in professional theatre, including regional theatre and two North American National Tours, and is currently the department Graduate Assistant.  This program has afforded her the opportunity to travel abroad for the first time, to Gattières, France, in July 2007, which led to her co-writing, co-producing, and editing the documentary, From Preservation to Production: A Study of Art Firm Models in the South of France. This spring, as well as concentrating on her thesis on unionization in the performing arts, she will be attending the League of American Theatres and Producers’ spring conference, as taking up her new position as Director of Development at the Irish Classical Theatre Company.    

"When I came to this program, I knew that I wanted to work in theatre management, but I had no idea the vast knowledge and possibilities that this program would provide me. My studies in business management, law, cultural policy, theatre management, and study abroad have helped to develop my understanding of the arts, their role within society, and will continue to foster my growth as a future leader in the theatre. I recommend a degree in Arts Management to anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in the arts."

Erica Pastore graduated in May 08. She is now a Program Analyst at The Institute for Museum and Library Services and has been awarded a full bursary to attend the Art of Management Conference in Banff, Canada

Erica chose Arts Management because of her background in Art History and her desire to work in the museum professional community. Since entering the program, she has worked for the UB Anderson Gallery on archival research for the Sam FrancisFoundation and the Karl Appel Foundation and will be traveling to the Fondation Hartung-Bergman in Antibes, France in January to conduct research on digital archives technologies. Erica is also Guest Editor of the forthcoming publication, A Master's of Business Art?, the 3rd volume of the Arts Management Program Occasional Paper Series.   She has had papers accepted for the 2008 EMLA conference and the Art of Management IV conference.

"My experience as a student in the program has been an opportunity to hone my academic skills and develop a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of the museum and cultural fields. I know that the work I have done over the past two years will guide and enhance my professional practice for years to come."

Jayne Hughes is currently working at Buffalo Artists Studio

Jayne joined the Arts Management Program as she believed that this would be the best way to forward her career aspirations in the arts non-profit sector.  While in the program she has worked with the Buffalo Arts Council and National Arts Program putting together an art exhibit displayed at Buffalo’s City Hall.   Jayne has received the 2008 Arts Advocacy Award and will be travelling to Washington D.C. to attend Arts Advocacy Day 31 March - 1 April 2008.

“I have a whole new understanding about how the arts function in society.  We have had the opportunity to interact with top arts managers in our community, throughout the United States and on an international level.  This program has been able to open my eyes in ways I never imagined, and I look forward to putting this knowledge to use throughout my career.”

Andrew Spong graduates in May, 2010. He is pursuing a JD through UB Law School in conjunction with Arts Management.

Andrew's belief in the fundamental importance of the arts and culture to a full life and healthy communities has led him to ask what structures help or hinder the work of creative people and organizations. Andrew helped develop a release contract governing the archive at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center and attended NUROPE in Kassel, Germany and the summer school In Gattieres, France this past summer and will join us on our second international summer class this coming year in Turku, Finland and Stockholm Sweden.

"Formalizing influences like systems of law, government, and management can have philosophically complex and pragmatically frustrating effects on the organic, often unpredictable processes of artmaking and cultural life.   A detailed, rigorous understanding of these connections informed by a multi-disciplinary, international comparative perspective could create a tremendous amount of added value and qualititively novel benefits for interests on both sides of the divide.   It's wonderful to have a University really get behind us on this project. It also turns out to be a lot of fun to study these things, especially in the field."

Moriah Hegmann graduated in May 08.  She is house manager at the Center for the Arts.

Moriah has spent the last decade working in event planning and as a house manager at the Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo.  She joined the Arts Management Masters Program hoping to extend her experience into further knowledge about the field of arts management.  She is currently working on her final research project which examines correlations between artistic disciplines and clinical outcomes in Arts in Healthcare.

"When I decided to pursue a masters five years after receiving my undergraduate degree, I questioned my own sanity; I had a full-time job, a part-time job and a family.  It did not take me long to realize that I had made the right decision.  I felt intellectually stimulated and educationally motivated in a way I had never experienced before, in a field that I love.  This was largely because of the sense of academic community I felt within the small arts management department, from which we are the first graduating class.  Whether it was studying not-for-profit organizational law, cultural policy, or traveling abroad to learn under internationally reknowned academics in our growing field, I have gained an extended family I could never duplicate."

Jessica Yacovoni graduated in May 08.  She is working at Shea's Performing Arts Center and her graduating project examines the financial sustainability of dance companies. In April she will be attending the Broadway League's Spring Conference in New York

I graduated from UB in 2005 with a BS in Business Administration and a minor in Dance. Like all seniors in college, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life until someone told me that I could have a career working for the Business side of Dance. I then heard about the Arts Management Program and knew instantly that it was the next step for me. I interned at Shea's Performing Arts Center for one year, then began working as a Ticket Service Representative in the Box Office, then started my position as Assistant to Development while still working in the Box Office during shows. I have also been working as a Student Assistant for the Center for 21st Century Music on UB's North Campus since its opening in the Fall of 2006. My final project will examine dance company survival, as I ask the question, how do dance companies' sources of income affect their financial sustainability?

"From the first time that I heard this program would be coming to UB it became my goal to follow its inception, and pursue a degree. And from the time I entered the program my eyes have been opened to a world I never knew existed before. I feel that I have grown as a person through what this program has offered, and I'm thankful for what I have learned and experienced. Now, more than ever, I'm excited to pursue a career in Arts Management where my passion for business and my passion for dance come together as one."