Eighteen AEMM Department students were given the opportunity to experience European arts management first hand during a special course, European Experiments in Cultural Policy and Arts Management, offered during the J-term. Led by department Chair, J. Dennis Rich, and full-time faculty member Philippe Ravanas, attended seminars on comparative cultural policy at the International Center for Cultural Management (ICCM) in Salzburg, Austria.

     As part of Columbia College’s MA in Arts Management program at the InterStudio, AEMM Artist-in-residence Chuck Suber visited St. Petersburg during March, 2006. Discussing decision-making in arts management, Suber shared his experiences in American-style arts management with a Russian audience.
     The MA program in Russia was started by Boris Peril, a former Russian Fulbright Fellow who served a year at Columbia comparing Russian and American arts management styles. Through the program, European, primarily Russian, students earn a Columbia College MA in Arts Management while studying in Russia. Many AEMM faculty have taught at the program, including department chair J. Dennis Rich, Phyllis Johnson, Philippe Ravanas, and Joseph Roberts.

     June 12-24, the AEMM Department will host twenty-three visiting Austrian students pursuing International MBAs in Arts Management. A joint project between the University of Salzburg Business School and the ICCM, the students will attend classes at Columbia College as part of their program in Cultural Entrepreneurship in Cultural and Political Context. Philippe Ravanas will lead a class on Comparative Cultural Policy, department Chair J. Dennis Rich will teach Fundraising Principles, and Joe Roberts will discuss Cultural Entrepreneurship. Students will also be given the opportunity to meet with Chicago area arts and cultural professionals.