Arts and Festival Management BA (Hons)

Modules

A variety of assessment methods are employed across the course ranging from more traditional forms such as essays and exams though to presentations (both individual and group), reports, portfolios and arts management practice. The course is 79% assessed via coursework.

• Arts and festival management framework
  You'll gain an introduction to the fundamentals of arts and festival management, mapping the range and diversity of UK/international arts organisations and festivals and outlining a number of core arts and festival management concepts including: strategic planning, governance, legal frameworks,funding/fundraising, marketing and, evaluation. The module identifies the frameworks within which contemporary arts organisations operate, be they commercial, subsidised or voluntary and, provides a solid foundation for the other modules in course.
• Accounting and finance in the arts
  You'll gain an introduction to accounting and finance with special reference to the arts and communications. Following initial preliminary work on producing basic financial statements, the emphasis will then move on to interpreting and using the financial information these statements provide. Published financial reports from dance, theatre, music and other arts organisations will be drawn on to contextualise the module.
• Arts and festival work placement 1
  You'll gain work experience in arts and festival organisations, thus developing an understanding of the key knowledge, skills and competencies that are needed to work in the sector. With the assistance of the Module Coordinator, you'll identify a work placement appropriate to your interests and experience, design a professional CV and application cover letter, and then complete 140 hours (approximately 20 days) work in the arts or festival organisation. By studying this module you'll be able to relate the practical experience gained through your work placement to the theories and concepts of arts and festival management covered in other Level 4 Modules.
• Arts policy framework
  This module provides an introduction to the structure and formation of contemporary Arts Policy at local, national and international levels, and the key debates that underpin policy making. The module will examine the role of key governmental agencies such as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Arts Council England and the British Council, as well as the policies of trusts, foundations and business sponsors. The module also includes consideration of the importance of cultural diversity and leadership within arts policy.
• Arts and festival marketing
  You'll gain an insight into the principles and practices of developing new audiences and sustaining existing audiences.. The underlying imperatives of audience development and arts marketing are explored, as well as the aesthetic contract between artists and audiences, funding criteria and the need to generate earned income. Areas such as barriers to access, the marketing mix, strategic planning, market research, market segmentation, print and online tools subsidised and commercial funding imperatives and public relations are also included.
• Outdoor festival logistics

• Managing arts events and festivals: planning
  You'll have a practical opportunity to design and plan an arts event, such as an exhibition, concert, club night, screening, artists' platform or multi-arts event, for a public venue outside the university campus. You'll work in groups to conceptualise, design and plan an event or festival and its presentation to an appropriate audience, within the wider context of contemporary cultural, funding and audience development frameworks. During the Semester 2 module, Managing Arts Events and Festivals: Production, you'll manage, implement and evaluate your own events.
• Managing arts events and festivals: production
  This module builds on the research and planning activities of Managing Arts Events and Festivals: Planning and will enable you to manage, implement and evaluate the arts event or festival you designed in Semester 1. You'll be able to apply theoretical learning to the practical experience of managing and evaluating an arts event or festival. You'll also gain practical experience of working with a range of art professionals, artists across a range of art forms, venues, technical staff, box office staff, funders as well as audiences.
• Arts and festivals work placement 2
  You'll build on the knowledge, skills and competencies acquired in Arts and Festival Work Placement 1. In the second module you'll take a more independent role in identifying and securing an arts work placement, appropriate and specific to their career goals, skills and experience. You'll engage in a wide variety of more complex, administrative and management tasks during your placement, and when appropriate to lead on small scale organisational projects as required by your placement supervisor.
• Law and the cultural sector
  You'll focus on key legal issues involved in staging visual or performing arts productions and events. You'll gain the knowledge needed to identify a legal problem situation, and the legal rules and forms which may be resorted to in order to solve the problem. You'll adopt a proactive approach to 'best practice' when complying with and implementing the law in arts organisations.
• Arts research project
  This module provides an introduction to research in the arts and cultural industries, giving you the opportunity to conduct a small scale, independent research project in an area of particular interest. The module also provides a solid foundation for more sustained research at Level 6 and beyond. You will develop knowledge of research philosophies, approaches, strategies, data collection, the literature review, methods of analysis and ethical considerations.
• Performing arts management (option)
  This module examines management practices in a wide range of contemporary performing arts organisations, including theatres, dance companies and music organisations. You'll expand your knowledge and understanding of the unique nature of artistic and creative vision, the manager's role in nurturing and facilitating the artistic product, the programmer's need to build and develop audiences and the creativity required in planning, deploying and accounting for the use of resources. You'll also enhance your abilities to interrogate the critical and management frameworks within which decisions are made in the performing arts.
• Modern museum and gallery practice (option)
  The module charts the evolution of the museum from the Louvre in 1793 to the present day, focussing on the major changes that have transformed museums since the 1980s and the debates that have underpinned these changes. You'll explore the artistic, educational, social, cultural and political purposes of museums and galleries and the issues involved in developing, presenting, interpreting, contextualising and promoting collections/exhibitions for culturally diverse audiences.

• Arts and festival fundraising
  You'll gain the skills, knowledge and understanding that an arts manager requires to successfully perform in their first job, whether fundraising from individuals, trusts and foundations, private businesses, European, central and local government or through events. You'll examine the wider cultural, political, technological, social, environmental and economic context of fundraising, key challenges and trends, and covers fundraising principles, ethics, strategies, techniques, financial planning, funding sources, and the implementation and evaluation of a strategy.
• Arts and festival work placement 3
  This module builds on the experience gained in the Arts and Festival Work Placement Modules. You'll take responsibility for a particular task or project within an arts organisation or independently manage a project or festival. On completion of the work based learning, you'll critically reflect upon the outcome of their placement in relation to its original aims and objectives. You'll also assess the placement in relation to political, economic, social and technological trends within the sector.
• Contemporary curation
  Contemporary curation provides a critical overview of contemporary curatorial practice, charting its evolution since 1960 and examining the diverse range of approaches being currently adopted. Using both historical and current case studies the module will examine and critique the dominant models of curation in galleries and museums as well as strategies by artists and curators for expanding and subverting mainstream practice. The module will give you a theoretical framework for understanding and analysing the complex relationship between art, artist, curatorial practice, institutional context, exhibition space and spectator.
• Managing music (option)
  In this module you'll assess current practices, frameworks, management structures and outputs in selected companies within the context of the political, economic, social and technological environment in which they operate. The module will also locate the production, distribution and consumption of music, and its perceived value, in relation to key critical theories and debates around musicology and popular culture.
• Arts in education and community settings (option)
  You'll explore a range of models across the sector in informal and formal environments, across art forms disciplines, as well as in emergent areas such as online communities. You'll also explore motivations for Community arts, philosophical and political approaches, define models of participation and evaluate mechanisms for sustainability.
• Dissertation (double module)
  The final year Dissertation Module gives you the opportunity to conduct original research in an area of your degree or field of interest. The Dissertation allows you to use any of the theories, topics and methods encountered on the course. You'll manage your own learning under the guidance of an academic supervisor. Lectures will offer general advice and guidance on research methods and describe different ways of approaching and structuring the Dissertation. The way your own Dissertation is organised and structured is best decided in consultation with your supervisor.