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Interdisciplinary Collaboration

by Alyssa Timin

Interdisciplinary collaborations across the visual and performing arts are becoming increasingly popular. In comprehending this trend, it is difficult to overstate the significance of composer John Cage. His influence looms large in the many inheritors of Black Mountain College’s utopian vision, the intermedia mischief of the Fluxus movement, and acoustic adventures of electronic musicians around the world. Cage’s view of composition as an opportunity for listening – for abdicating control as well as exercising it – has inspired countless alliances dedicated to making something meaningfully more than the sum of its parts. This drive to create hybrid, multi-layered events has not just modified the role of artists, but also the roles of audiences and arts professionals.

Today’s art enthusiasts on the hunt for DIY teamwork will no doubt still find themselves in out of the way project rooms, cooperative gallery spaces, and roughly converted warehouses, where only loose boundaries may exist between stage and house, work and context, performance and life. At its essence, the spirit of this art tends to suggest a temporary meeting of materials and resources, as though what is worth remembering is that we all agreed for a little while to do what was possible there.

Artsline - Fall 2007

Letter from the Editor

Dear Readers,

This issue of Artsline focuses on collaborations between, artistic disciplines, and the difficulties and rewards that arts administrators face in organizing them.

Alyssa Timin discusses the rising trend in interdisciplinary collaborations, and what this means for arts administrators.  Matt Levy and Paula Marincola give an interview on the Interdisciplinary Professional Development Grant Program, in which they discuss one of the opportunities artists and organizations have for funding interdisciplinary works.

The AAGA is already busy with events for this school year.  President Zeek Weil discusses the Art Auction, the upcoming AFTA convention and other events the AAGA will have a hand in this school year.  Also, current Arts Administration student Kelli Fletcher talks about the most recent Organized Arts Trip (OATS), where Drexel graduate students from all disciplines went to the Wilma Theater to see BalletX.

Artsline will soon be adding a "Where are they Now?" section, which will highlight the achievements of some of our most prominent alumni.  Submit your nominations now! 

Finally, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this issue, and encourage all of our readers to continue to keep Artsline updated on your successes and accomplishments.

- Sarah Ellison

Letter from the AAGA President

Greetings,

As you read this I hope you’re getting some time to rest during the Holidays, see family and friends and reflect on the past year. For the AAGA, it’s been busy this fall. We’re hard at work and I’m thankful to have a great board that is driven, honest, and wants the best for our Arts Administration program.

It’s truly an exciting time for many of us. To those second year students that recently finished course work, what a great accomplishment. To those students finalizing a thesis, congratulations, your diploma is nearly in hand. For all our part time students that will finish course work this academic year, stay focused and finish strong. And finally to our first year students, take a moment now and then and slow down—this experience goes by fast!

The memories you create while at Drexel will last you a lifetime. And the AAGA is doing its part to make 2008 a memorable year.  Already the AAGA is hard at work planning the 5^th annual Art Auction. It’s Friday, February 8^th, 7:00 to 10:00 PM, in the Paul Peck Alumni Center. This is a great opportunity for alumni, students, faculty, and professionals to catch up with one another and to support a good cause by allowing the graduate students to raise money to finance a trip to National Arts Advocacy Day in Washington.

Speaking of catching up, Americans for the Arts (AFTA) will hold its annual convention in Philadelphia, June 20-22. The AAGA is exploring ways to have our students involved in this national conference. While nothing is final, this event will provide an opportunity for all of us to come together and learn the latest about our field. I hope to see many Drexel AADM students, alumni and faculty this June.

To stay current on the many activities the AAGA is involved in from Organized Art Trips (OATS), to our spring speaker; please visit our website, www.drexel.edu/westphal/aaga. It’s the best way to find out what we’re all about! And don’t forget, we want to hear from you, if have ideas about how to improve the AAGA contact us at aaga@drexel.edu.

Enjoy the year everyone!

Warmly,

Zeek Weil
AAGA Board President, 2007-08

Interview with Matt Levy and Paula Marincola of the Interdisciplinary Professional Development Grant Program

Artsline: Could you give a brief introduction to the IPDG program?

Matt Levy: It’s a program designed to provide support for artists to do research - sort of like a research and development grant to explore collaborations with other artists from other disciplines, to produce work that is interdisciplinary.

Paula Marincola: We support organizations that would do that as well.

Social Theory, Politics and the Arts Conference

by Elizabeth McClearn

In early October I had the good fortune of presenting original research along with Professor Ximena Varela at the 33 ^rd Annual Conference of Social Theory, Politics and the Arts, (STP&A) held this year at New York University.

Disciplines represented at this international conference vary from law and arts education to economics and management, but STP&A is generally lauded as the foremost conference for cultural policy and the arts.   Typically reserved for professionals and researchers, our panel was comprised of the few students presenting at STP&A, including recent Arts Administration graduate Melissa Buchanan who presented her thesis, Arts Administration student Zeek Weil, and Music Industry student Joshua Erickson, who presented on the role of marketing new technology to college students.  

Professor Varela and I presented Research Based Audience Development: Targeting University Students, an extension of the ongoing College Audience Participation Project first conducted in Professor Varela's Fall 2006 Audience Development class.  The findings of the survey were discussed here in Winter 2007.

Speaking at an international conference is surprisingly fun, and it's a superb occasion to meet with other people in the field and to hear the latest and most progressive research.   

Elizabeth McClearn is a current student in Drexel's Arts Administration graduate program, and is an intern for the Arts & Culture Service at WHYY.

Drexel Graduate Students at Ballet X

by Kelli Fletcher

During each term, the AAGA sponsors Organized Arts Trips, popularly known as OATS. These trips are open to graduate students from any program at Drexel. Approximately 19 people from Drexel attended this session’s outing on November 4^th to see BalletX. The company, founded by former Pennsylvania Ballet members Christine Cox and Matthew Neenan, is in its first season as the resident ballet company at the Wilma Theater.

The Latin American Institute of Musuems and Democratic Networking: Using the Internet to Overcome Geographic and Political Barriers

How can information and training be exchanged, efficiently and effectively, among people separated by considerable geographic, economic, and political obstacles?

This was the puzzle that confronted a group of museum professionals nearly a decade ago. Trained in Latin America, the United States and Europe, they were frustrated by the lack of communication and volume of missed opportunities that characterized the Latin American sector.  For this reason, on December 1, 1997, led by Georgina DeCarli, an Argentinean/Costa Rican anthropologist, they founded the Latin American Institute of Museums (initially called the Latin American Institute of Museology), or ILAM.  The Institutes's web portal has been a pioneer in utilizing Internet technology to connect communities, exchange knowledge, and facilitate Democratic flows of information across national borders and within countries. ILAM's work in providing full access to information and opportunities has received awards and recognition world-wide.

Adrian Ellis: The Impact of Globalization on the Non Profit Cultural Sector

The Arts Administration Graduate Student Assocation presented "The Impact of Globalization on the Cultural Sector" with Adrian Ellis, founder, owner and managing partner of AEA Consulting.  The lecture is presented in partnership with The LeBow College of Business and the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts and Design on Tuesday, May 22 at 6pm in Bossone Auditorium.  The event was a great success and over 175 people from the Philadelphia community attended.

New Arts Administration Alumni Network

We are finally doing it! We are working to establish an Arts Administration Alumni Network and we want to include you!

In late March, several Drexel University Arts Administration alumni met with Cecelia Fitzgibbon and Ximena Varela  to talk about the possibility of establishing an Arts Administration Alumni Network. Specifically, we discussed the needs of the Arts Administration program and its students, the role that alumni play in the current program, and the needs and expectations of the program's alumni working in the field.  We determined that creating an alumni network for the Arts Administration Graduate Program would be of great benefit to everyone.

Artsline- Spring 2007

Artsline Spring 07

Letter from the Editor:

Dear Readers,

This quarter's Artsline explores the world of networking.  Networking is a very important tool which is useful in every profession to stimulate professional and intellectual growth.  Arts Administration Professor Ximena Varela discusses some of the ways in which the Latin American Institute for Museums (ILAM) is using online networking techniques.

Alumna Paige Kelton writes about the new Arts Administration Alumni Network founded this spring.  This is a great opportunity for alumni to socialize, support, and keep in touch with one another and the program.  She asks that alumni participate in the Alumni Blog and the Alumni MySpace page.

Furthermore, there have been many networking events sponsored by the AAGA this quarter.  AAGA Special Committee Member Rachel von Wettberg describes her experiences at Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. The AAGA held a well received speaker event featuring Adrian Ellis who spoke on The Impact of Globalization in the Cultural Sector.

The AAGA also recently held elections for board members and the new officers - Zeek Weil, Andrew Leeson, Christine Fox and Tracy E. Smith-have written about themselves and their goals for the AAGA.  This year's board members are highly qualified and they plan to maintain the high quality of programs for which the AAGA is known.

Also be sure to check out the Artsline Blog to comment on this and past issues.

I would like to extend my congratulations to all of our graduates.  I wish all graduates the best of luck.  I would like to thank Artsline readers for their support this year and encourage you to continue updating Artsline with your accomplishments.

Have a great summer!

- Elizabeth Piercey

A Debate: The Future of the Barnes

Adrian Ellis

The Impact of GLOBALIZATION on the Cultural Sector

With Adrian Ellis, Founder & Managing Principal, AEA Consulting

Presented by Drexel University's Arts Administration Graduate Student Association in partnership with Drexel University ’s LeBow College of Business, Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, and the Arts Administration Program.

Tuesday, May 22, 2007 6:00 PM

Bossone Auditorium

Drexel University

3128 Market Street, Philadelphia

215-895-6400    http://www.drexel.edu/westphal/aaga

 
A reception will follow the presentation.

Adrian Ellis, one of today's foremost thinkers on cultural management, will be speaking at Drexel University about the impact of globalization on non-profit cultural institutions in the United States and Europe. Globalization is having a profound impact on the social, economic and cultural fabric of nations throughout the world.  In his presentation, Adrian Ellis will explore the need to address new audiences in new ways; the growth in strategic international partnerships; the growth in the volume and sophistication of restitution claims and the questioning of the legitimacy of such concepts as the 'encyclopedic' museum.

Adrian Ellis is the founder and managing principal of AEA Consulting, a firm that specializes in strategic operations and facilities planning for the cultural sector, he has worked with highly regarded institutions such as the British Council, The Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, The Frick Collection, Jazz at Lincoln Center, National Gallery - London, and many others.

To register for this free event please email aaga@drexel.edu with your name, title, and organization or call 215-895-6400.

John Pfahl Photgraphs

This is a rare opportunity to hear John Pfahl speak about his evolution as an artist and the transformation of his art in the digital age. Visual lecture with PowerPoint.

Since the 1970s, Pfahl's work has been collected and exhibited worldwide while he's enjoyed a growing national and international reputation as a landscape photographer. He is considered such an important photographer that he merited four pages in the recently published three-volume Encyclopedia of 20th Century Photography (Routledge). His art appears in numerous books; Art in America and many other national magazines have devoted feature articles to his work.

His new series Scrolls, recently on view in an exhibition at The Janet Borden Gallery in New York City, makes use of the computer to radically alter photographs that began as one kind of landscape and end up as another.

• Thursday, May 17, 7pm
• Stein Auditorium (111 Nesbitt Hall)
• 33rd & Market Sts.
• Free and Open to the Public
• Info: 215.895.1649
• www.drexel.edu/westphal

Coffee and Jazz

Drexel University’s Department of Performing Arts Vocal Jazz Ensemble will conclude the 2006-07 Academic Year with a performance in the Faculty Lounge on the 6th Floor of MacAlister Hall. The performance will include the music of Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and many others. In addition to the great music there will be coffee and a variety of desserts including brownies, cookies, and lemon bars. The concert will begin approximately at 8:20 PM and last for an hour. Tickets can be purchased at the door and seating is limited, so be sure to arrive early!

Event Facts:

• Who: Drexel University Vocal Jazz Ensemble
• What: Coffee and Jazz
• When:  Friday, May 18 at 8:20 PM
• Where:  Faculty Dining Room, 6th Flr. MacAlister (33rd and Chestnuts Sts.)
• Cost: $6
• More Information:  215-895-ARTS (2787)