Artistic expression now takes many forms and involves traditional and interactive media that pose new challenges to arts managers and museum curators. A new area of graduate study at the University of Oregon is launching with the addition of a media management concentration in the Arts and Administration program.
The new media management area of concentration, directed by assistant professor John Fenn III, addresses challenges created by media technologies in arts and culture sectors. It focuses on the role of media across the arts with an emphasis on knowledge and skills useful to administrators. Media management includes text, audio, graphics, animation, video, film and interactivity. The curriculum enables students to wield media as both delivery technologies and social communications strategies.
According to Fenn, media management is a central strand of arts administration that can be seen as a specialty and also a part of everyday professional practice.
“Managing media is more than being tech-savvy,” said Fenn. “It involves understanding the limits and potential for media to serve as delivery vehicle and communication strategy. It comprises a set of creative, practical and critical skills that enable such communication across an array of social and cultural contexts.”
The media management area of concentration will host interactive artists Kevin Patton and Maria del Carmen Montoya, winners of the 2009 Rhizome Commission, to meet with students and give a public performance and lecture. The artists will visit the UO campus Jan. 25 to 29.