HART/Beat January Newsletter - Dorcas' Sharing

Different from many subjects, say art history and archaeology, there is simply no so-called ‘syllabus’ in art administration; nor a simple checklist which will make one a successful art administrator.

When we first started having the idea of doing a series of course on art administration, some questions which our team constantly asked ourselves were: what are we going to share? How is that different from the content of the numerous courses in the market? Ultimately, how can participants be benefited?

Below are three elements summarized, which HART found crucial in making HART’s 5 Courses series one of a kind.

• Openness
  One of the key signatures of the courses is the frankness promoted in all sessions. Not only did all the case studies come from day-to-day experience, Jeannie, our instructor, was never reluctant in sharing the true side of the stories, which was very much endeared by all participants. As art administrators, we learn from our experience, and behind every story, there are lessons - happy or painful - that fuel us going further; and these were the key takeaways - not the certificates - which we wanted participants to bring home with.

• Applicability
  Prerequisites were never set for the courses, which means that participants from different fields - performing arts, design and fashion, career-changers… were all welcome to join these five sessions. Applicability was thus a key point of consideration when developing and driving all course content. How could the courses speak to all participants? Having a well-balance of sharing on soft skills (i.e. personal attributes) and hard skills (i.e. specific arts and cultural knowledge) allowed the courses to stay relevant to everyone in the class.

• Interaction
  Exercises, discussions, presentations, debates… all were highly familiar to participants in the courses. Spoon-fed kind of lecturing is never HART’s style, as we are strong believers in sharing and learning from each other. Nothing amazed us more than seeing how engaged the class was, as well as the bonding and linkage built throughout the five courses through dialogues.

By sharing the above insights, we are not conveying that ‘one way is better than the other’. We are not looking for a conclusion, but a continuation - an extension of discussion, which has made and will continue to make us all better as practitioners in the arts and cultural sector.

What is your interpretation of a successful art administrator, and how do you think the training should be? Share with us your thoughts by dropping us a message.