News & Events

John Delconte to teach 'Creative Economy and Placemaking' this spring

AES is pleased to announce that John Delconte has joined our online faculty and will be teaching Creative Economy and Placemaking this spring.

A Better Future for Women and Girls, One Show at a Time: Gwendolyn Tunnicliffe and WAM Theatre

by Serena Wong, AES Blog Writing Intern

People tend to keep useful things on their desks. Some pens and pencils, perhaps. A bust of an inspirational historic figure. For Gwendolyn Tunnicliffe, it was a copy of Fundamentals of Arts Management.

Introducing our Blog Writing Interns: Jonah Dratfield and Serena Wong

This year, AES has two fantastic blog writing interns working with us: Jonah Dratfield and Serena Wong. Both Jonah and Serena are on-campus UMass students interested in careers in writing. Throughout the fall and spring, we will be sharing interviews they are conducting with our on-campus and online alumni about their lives and careers post-study with the Arts Extension Service. Scattered throughout will also be interviews with select intern-internship provider pairs from our Arts Entrepreneurship Initiative, as well as other AES "luminaries."

New Online "Cultural Policy and Advocacy" Course in Spring 2018!

The Arts Extension Service (AES) is excited to announce a new online Cultural Advocacy and Policy course, which will be offered starting in Spring 2018. Available for credit or non-credit, this course will provide emerging, mid-career, and advanced arts leaders with an understanding of the fundamentals of creating cultural policy, as well as tools for advocacy, so they can create legislative change in their communities.

Entrepreneurship in the Arts: A Conversation with Jonathan Kuuskoski

Jonathan Kuuskoski is the instructor for our online Foundations in Arts Entrepreneurship course and Assistant Director of Entrepreneurship and Career Services with the EXCEL program at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance! The EXCEL Program provides entrepreneurship training and career services for all. You can read Jonathan's bio here.

Internship Profile: Live Arts Magazine's Amanda Herman and Intern Laura Sui

In September, the Arts Extension Service will be holding a Fall Arts and Humanities Internship Fair in collaboration with the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and BDIC. As a way to answer commonly asked questions about the internship process, we profile pairings resulting from our internship program. In this article, we profile Live Arts Magazine Director Amanda Herman and UMass Amherst Media Management and Production major Laura Sui.

Internship Profile: Wistariahurst Museum's Kate Preissler and Marketing Intern Aradhita Saraf

In September, the Arts Extension Service will be holding a Fall Arts and Humanities Internship Fair in collaboration with the College of Humanities and Fine Arts and BDIC. As a way to answer commonly asked questions about the internship process, we profile pairings resulting from our internship program. In this article, we profile Wistariahurst Museum’s Executive Director Kate Preissler and UMass Amherst English major Aradhita Saraf. Kate and Aradhita worked together in Fall 2015, in Aradhita's junior year.

It's Time For Sustainability in the Arts To Be a Priority

I was in Scotland presenting at the Association of Arts Administration Educators conference with colleagues from two other countries on Sustainability and the Arts when Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Accords. While I could have been flooded with anger, humiliation, frustration, and resignation, the reality is that it has been our states, communities, organizations, and individuals- not our Federal government- that have been diligently creating opportunities and making efforts to address climate change.

"What are you up to this summer?"

Our arts management and arts entrepreneurship students are always busy - and the summer is no different. We asked our on-campus students what they were up to this summer - here is what a few of them had to say:

Adam Stark (Music Business and Production) "I'm playing synthesizer with Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps, spending 3 months rehearsing, performing, competing, and touring the United States.”

Pushing Back with a Permaculture Approach: Fighting for the NEA

As any artist and arts manager knows, threats to the NEA, NEH and PBS have been a continual and frustrating consumer of our precious time and resources.The endless need to push back is beginning to resemble mowing the lawn, a tiresome chore we need to do over and over again. This time, however, the stakes are higher than weeds or tall grass. Threats to cut and to eliminate the NEA have never come from an Administration in power. This time we need a more powerful machine to fight back.

Arts Extension Service