Kate Osborn offers a student?s perspective on postgraduate training.
Last year I began a two year MA course at the London College of Communication, part of the newly-named University of the Arts. The programme is entitled Enterprise Management for the Creative Arts (EMCA): the first year awards me a Postgraduate Diploma, the second a Masters degree. Since graduating eight years ago, I have wanted to undertake further study but have found it hard to find the right course. I looked at courses on curating, arts education and arts management but nothing quite fitted with my practical experience of working in small arts organisations. Having worked on community programmes in Brighton and in London I could see that exciting projects got off the ground through the hard work of committed individuals.
The MA EMCA has enabled me to use actual working situations in a more thoughtful and academic manner. The course looks at how to set things up, undertake feasibility studies, raise funds, manage budgets, market products, maintain and evaluate progress. These areas of study can be applied to a range of creative situations: in my student cohort there are graphic designers, musical entrepreneurs and community arts managers, as well as others who, like myself, work in arts education. The diversity of experience and ambitions adds to the enjoyment, as students are encouraged to support and network with one another.
As a mother with young children I am only working part-time and I was keen to show prospective employers that my skills and thinking are up to date. Other students range from those who have just graduated and want to set up their own businesses to more mature students looking to negotiate a first or second career move. Most are working full-time. The challenge for course participants is to use the material delivered in both an academic and practical manner while fulfilling the course requirements and creating the things they want in their working lives.
One recent graduate, Clara Clint, began the course as a fine art graduate unclear of her direction and worked in her final year with another student on a review of the visual arts in Northern Ireland. She undertook her studies while working in a communications position for a non-arts organisation. Another graduate, Joyce Cronin, used her postgraduate research to create a broad developmental portfolio including exhibition planning and organisation whilst working in a voluntary capacity for the Foundation for Women?s Art (FWA). During her studies she successfully raised funds to cover her salary as Project Manager at the FWA and has recently been appointed as Gallery Manager for Matt?s Gallery, an independent artist-run venue showing contemporary art.
For myself, I hope to develop my studies looking at the opportunities for young people to enter a career in the creative industries and have been developing a project proposal for secondary-school pupils to be mentored by professional practitioners. Already my studies have affected the way I think about projects holistically, planning for risks and maximising the benefits for the users. Research in the field of youth arts provision has encouraged me to make new contacts and to feel confident in contributing to the discussion of new developments.
Kate Osborn is studying for an MA in Enterprise Management for the Creative Arts at the London College of Communication. She has worked for eight years in the field of arts education. e: katart@zoom.co.uk. For more information about her course,
w: http://www.managementofcreativity.com