Entrepreneurial Pathways in Art

An Introductory Course for Undergraduate Students in Arts Entrepreneurship

Abstract

Art programs at the university level are often designed in a studio-based model where the curriculum objective is “high-levels of disciplinary expertise” (Hong, Essig, & Bridgstock, 2012). These programs graduate artists who, while highly proficient in creation and performance, must navigate a career market which is limited and highly competitive.  This studio model is shifting. Many arts programs at the university level are now beginning to incorporate courses which help artists as they navigate the business of the art world, but these types of interventions still neglect opportunities to fully harness artistic skillsets of art students.

Arts Entrepreneurship is an emerging discipline in post-secondary education. This discipline aims address the needs of the artist while also recognizing the unique habits of mind the artist might bring into enterprise. The scope of this discipline extends beyond studio practices by considering and measuring the impact of an artists’ work. “The unique mission of arts programs and therefore a unique of arts entrepreneurship education and a defining aspect of its signature pedagogy is the practice of making art work in and for the real world” (Hong, Essig, & Bridgstock, 2012). In this discipline, artists extend the scope of their “work” beyond creation and towards practices which can future sustain an artistic venture. Arts Entrepreneurship therefore seeks to graduate artists who are able to consider and measure the scope of external impacts.

The proposal here seeks to address the need of graduates in art education to pursue meaningful employment while also generating new potentials the artist’s role in wider society.