News & Events

AES Instructor John Delconte Speaks at Amherst Panel on Economic Development

A panel discussion about the state of economic development in Amherst was held at the Old Chapel on the UMass campus on May 29, 2019. The discussion, hosted by the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce, Bobrowski and Vickery, LLC, and UMass included UMass AES Instructor of Creative Economy and Placemaking, John Delconte.

Rena Cromer Finding Her Niche in Theater Management

Rena Cromer, who currently lives in Roanoke, Virginia, is just one semester away from completing her BA from the University Without Walls Concentration in Arts Management. Rena is also the Box Office Coordinator at the Lenfest Center for the Arts on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA. Rena finds AES courses are helping her to build a theater management career.

Program Coordinator Terre Vandale: Exploring Mount Holyoke as a Living Laboratory

Like most Arts Extension Service staff and faculty, AES Program Coordinator Terre Vandale is also a practicing artist. A dancer, Terre creates performance for site and stage as well as dance video, participatory installations, and visual dance scores. Terre infuses her work as a teacher and administrator with an artist’s sensibility and perspective. Her Arts Fundraising course draws on interactive and collaborative teaching methods - essential elements of the creative process.

Riley Walter: Emerging Music Entrepreneur

Riley Walter is an AES student and BDIC (Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration) majoring in Music Production Engineering and Entrepreneurship. AES courses and his internship at Northfire Recording studio have prepared him well for a career in the hip-hop industry. He is both a musician himself and is training in engineering and music/audio production.

Embracing Change: Austin Luke’s BDIC Major in Arts Management

Campus student Austin Luke (UMass ‘19) is graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree with Individual Concentration in Arts Management. Luke charted a path to prepare himself for a career in Music Business by integrating Arts Extension Service (AES) classes with courses in psychology and marketing. His story can help other campus students interested in designing a BDIC major focused on Arts Management.

"Artist-in-Business” Training Coming to Springfield this April

The Arts Extension Service (AES) will offer an Artist-in-Business Training at UMass Springfield on April 27th. In this day-long intensive, artists address key elements of both business and marketing practices to build their arts-based business. This training will provide resources for visual artists, performers, and creatives in all mediums. Session topics include pricing, web and offline marketing, understanding and reaching one’s target market, finance basics, and goal setting to reach their next steps.

How to Get an Intern

The Five College area offers great access to interns for arts organizations and artists, with a wealth of students studying the arts. For creative businesses and non-profit organizations, interns can infuse your organization with fresh energy, perspectives and a thirst for learning new skills and ideas to apply to their careers. For students, interning can help open up new career paths and build resume-worthy experiences.

Symposium: Art + Math =

The Arts Extension Service’s Arts Entrepreneurship Initiative is excited to partner with the University Museum of Contemporary Art on the Museum’s upcoming symposium, Art + Math =. The symposium will take place on Monday, April 1st from 1:00pm to 5:30pm in the John W. Olver Building (Lecture Hall 170) on the UMass Amherst Campus.

From Music to Arts Management

Allison Gilliard is currently the Special Programs and Outreach Coordinator at Portrait Society of America, a nonprofit in Tallahassee, FL, aiming to “foster and enhance an understanding of the practice, techniques and applications of traditional fine art portraiture and figurative works.” As Outreach Coordinator, Allison is primarily responsible for cultivating relationships with artists and sponsors (nationally and internationally) and connecting them to educational resources.

Happy Anniversary Arts Entrepreneurship Initiative!

The Arts Extension Service is excited to celebrate five years of its Arts Entrepreneurship Initiative devoted to supporting the careers of working artists and providing students with opportunity locally, regionally, and nationally. The development of new programs happens for a myriad of reasons. Sometimes it is inspiration that propels a new service offering into being. Just such a conversation between two people from different creative disciplines gave rise to the Arts Entrepreneurship Initiative.

Arts Extension Service