The Water is Fine Online: Arts Entrepreneurs Dive in Fish Tank
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2020) — Arts organizations have found new ways to connect with audiences in 2020. University of Kentucky Department of Arts Administration students have been challenged to take this one step further by creating alternative methods of delivery without a dependence on technology.
This challenge is the basis for the third annual Fish Tank: Emerging Entrepreneurs in the Arts, presented by theLAB, 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17, via Zoom. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, Fish Tank features six groups of UK arts administration students in AAD 410 Arts Entrepreneurship who have innovative ideas for a better future for arts organizations and will pitch them to a panel of expert judges. The event will be hosted by Keith McMunn, fellowship director at Awesome Inc. and entrepreneur-in-residence for the class.
Jill Schinberg, assistant professor of arts administration, explained the importance of the upcoming event. “The global pandemic has challenged the ways in which we have historically engaged with arts and culture in society. Many organizations have adapted their programming by relying heavily on technological solutions, but not everyone has access to technology.
“Arts administrators striving to create inclusive organizations must ensure access to the arts for economically disadvantaged, rural or other populations that may not have consistent/reliable internet access or who lack the equipment or tech savvy to engage. The students participating in this competition are building solutions and will come away with a fully formed and viable business plan.”
Competitors will be judged on the feasibility and sustainability of their projects by esteemed business owners and arts professionals including:
- Adanma Onyedike Barton, associate professor of theatre at Berea College. Barton was the first African American president of the Kentucky Theatre Association.
- Nan Plummer, former art museum director and former president and CEO of LexArts, Lexington’s arts council and united arts fund. She is currently executive director of the Treeline Conservancy in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
- Jaleesa Renee Wells, Ph.D., assistant professor of arts administration at UK. Wells’ research and practice explores areas such as social enterprise and hybrid organizational development in the arts and culture sector, as well as investigating racial and social justice issues in cultural institutions.
For the second time, there will be an audience favorite winner. Register for your free ticket now so you can vote for your favorite.
A laboratory for creative and applied research in arts administration, theLab focuses on producing, presenting and consulting on projects from vision to fruition. Addressing equitable practices through planning, staffing, policy and procedure is a hallmark of its work as collaborative researchers. Created in the image of the clinical services and extension models for applied research across university campuses around the world, theLAB was conceived and is directed by Schinberg.
Founded in 1987, the Department of Arts Administration at UK College of Fine Arts offers one of the most comprehensive curricula in the country including the only Ph.D. in arts administration. Dynamic and innovative, the department leads national and international initiatives in teaching, research, professional and community service to educate and inspire responsible arts leaders, artists and entrepreneurs.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.