Cultural Management by Students

Organising cultural events often requires a lot of planning and initiative from different groups. Most of the work in the cultural sector happens behind the scenes, not on stage. In the Management and Entrepreneurship (M&E) course, bachelor students from the Arts, Culture, and Media program learn how organizing in the cultural sector works. This year, two advisory reports were produced for the Deinum/The Traveling Pop School Foundation and Crosswise.

The first report is an advisory report for the Deinum/The Traveling Pop School Foundation. The foundation aims to make art, especially music, accessible in the rural areas of Groningen. They want to promote talent development and inclusivity in the creative sector. Students Anna Huh, Eliza Curran, Dominic Bouvy, Marit van der Weele, and Liana Prodorutti analyzed the foundation's strategic plan in the M&E course. They highlighted that the foundation could benefit from collaborations with similar organizations to strengthen its position. The students suggested that cross-sectional collaborations could be beneficial for the stability of a small organization like the Deinum Foundation. By partnering with both non-profit and for-profit organizations, the foundation can maintain its financial security.

The second report was written for Crosswise. Crosswise works to promote collaborations in the cultural sector, aiming to bridge the gap between cultural theory and practice. The organization wants to encourage innovative art forms that come from interdisciplinary collaborations. Students Anas Younes, Areti Gianouli, Laura ten Kate, and Zara Masrour wrote an advisory report for Crosswise. They found that the organization could emphasize the unique contributions of interdisciplinary collaborations in their marketing.

Both advisory reports stress that small changes behind the scenes can have a big impact on the success of a cultural organization or foundation. The work that happens backstage is just as important as what happens on stage.