We encourage interested visitors to RSVP with Assistant Director Kevin Leary (krleary@buffalo.edu) to ensure sufficient seating at lecture events.  All campus visitors should be prepared to follow UB's Health and Safety Guidelines.

Led by Andy Finch, the Director of Policy for the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMG), Arts Management Program students will attend Museums Advocacy Day in Washington, DC to advocate for museums on Capitol Hill.  On February 27, students will attend AAM's Museums Advocacy Day conference where they will sit alongside museum professionals to learn about key policies and issues affecting museums, advocacy tactics to influence congressional members, and strategize with professionals to plan their visits to congressional offices.  On the 28th, students go to Capitol Hill to advocate for policy changes to help the museum sector.

Andy Finch is Director of Policy for the Association of Art Museum Directors, working on issues including tax deductibility of gifts of art, federal indemnification of art exhibitions, arts education, and the federal cultural agencies. He served as Americans for the Arts' chief lobbyist on Capitol Hill and at the federal executive agencies from 2003 to 2007. From 1999 to 2001, he was a Special Assistant at the U.S. Department of Education, advising the Secretary, senior staff, and the First Lady's office on arts education policy. He was a lobbyist for the American Association of Museums from 1990 to 1999, specializing in tax policy, education, and grassroots organizing. During the 1980's, he worked on two statewide campaigns in Massachusetts, on two presidential campaigns, and as a Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives. Andy holds a B.A. from Brandeis University in history and classical civilization, and a M.A. in Latin from U.C.L.A. 

American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, we have been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need to move the field forward.

Our Alliance of 35,000 museums and museum professionals seeks to better our communities, and our world, through collaborative human-centered experiences, education, and connection to histories, cultures, the natural world, and one another. Our members spark curiosity and wonder, widen horizons and understanding, and create community connection through a shared commitment to equity and learning.  For more information, visit their website.

While in Washington, DC, students will visit arts organizations to discuss curatorial practice, the intersections of art and activism, and network with museum professionals.  Students will start the day with a visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.  Following their visit their, they will move to the Anacostia Museum to dicuss the Utopia Project with museum staff, an installation intended to allow visitors to "learn to tap into the issues they care about and then envision their own version of a utopia in an immersive “Dream Space.”"  After this visit, they will get back downtown to the Textile Museum to discuss the museum, its work and context, and professional arts management practice.

10:20am - 1:00pm, 276 Center for the Arts

John Zion serves as the Managing Director of MKI Artists where he oversees strategic planning, artist management, and booking while supporting the careers of its prestigious roster of artists, ensembles, and composers. He is also a co-founder of OurConcerts.live, a streaming platform and technology company that produced more than 300 virtual concerts during the pandemic in collaboration with Spivey Hall, the University of Connecticut’s Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts, Washington Performing Arts, and many other presenting organizations. OurConcerts.live continues to provide access to live music for audiences around the world.

Also an active consultant, John works with artists, administrators, and arts organizations on career development, project management, and digital marketing. John serves on the board of Chamber Music America and has taught and presented on arts-related issues at the Colburn School of Music, University of Michigan, Manhattan School of Music, Netherlands String Quartet Academy, Banff Centre, APAP|NYC, and Chamber Music America’s National Conference. In 2012, he was named one of the “Rising Stars in the Performing Arts” by Musical America.

John studied at Lawrence University and the Hartt School of Music; before coming to MKI Artists, he performed regularly as a violinist with orchestras throughout New England, taught public-school music, and toured Vietnam with his string quartet. He lives in Burlington, VT with his wife Emily and enjoys cooking, reading, and traveling in his spare time.

Second year students in the Program will collaborate with NeMLA to organize the conference's first art exhibition. Adriana Torres-Trinidad, Ruixin Qing, and Qinyang Zhi, will curate an exhibition of visual and performing art that relates to the conference's central theme of "Resilience."  Their work - a component of their final project and culminating experience in the Program - will enhance discussions around the conference's theme and highlight Buffalo artists.

The visual artworks will explore the topics of indigenous/afro identity, sexual diversity, women’s strength, and technology vs. humanity through the lens of resilience.  

The Arts Management Program will host a weeklong intensive to expose students to the tech tools that influence arts managers.  Students will engage in hands-on workshops with working professionals to hone their skills in data visualization, graphic design, short-form video creation, web design, and social media marketing. 

April 3 @ 1:00pm: Matthew Wizinsky - "Graphic Design Matters"

Matthew Wizinsky is a designer, educator, researcher, and lecturer on contemporary design practices and research. He was formally trained in graphic design at the University of Cincinnati (BS), the University of Illinois at Chicago (MFA), and the Institute of Visual Communication (FHNW) in Basel, Switzerland, and holds professional certification in Strategic Foresight from the University of Houston. Wizinsky has over 20 years of professional design experience, ranging from start-ups to international commercial agencies to in-house studios for cultural institutions. He established an independent studio and consultancy in Chicago in 2009. He has worked for global commercial clients, including Harley-Davidson, McDonald’s, and Tiffany & Co.; has co-organized and/or designed exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Cultural Center, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and Cincinnati Art Museum; and has contributed to installations at the Venice Architecture Biennale (2018), International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York, and Exhibit Columbus (2019) in Columbus, IN.

Wizinsky began his academic career in 2012, with joint teaching (School of Design) and research positions (Innovation Center) at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2015, he joined the faculty of the Ullman School of Design at the University of Cincinnati, where he teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in design research methods, communication design, interaction design, discursive/speculative design, strategic foresight, and design history. Wizinsky's research, scholarship, and creative works have been awarded, exhibited, published, and presented internationally. His interdisciplinary research collaborations have been supported by Humanities Without Walls (Mellon Foundation), the MAC Cosmetics AIDS Fund, People's Liberty, and others. Wizinsky is an Associate Editor for "Visible Language," the oldest peer–reviewed academic journal for design, in publication since 1967. 

Additional support provided by the Digital Scholarship Studio and Network.

April 4 @ 1:00pm: Michael Bouquard - "Short Video for Socials"

Short video is no longer the differentiating exception on social media channels; it is the expectation.  Posting frequency demands are higher than ever and many people/organizations don’t have the financial capacity to hire a team devoted solely to this important function.  So how do you make high-quality videos that won’t cost you too much time and money to produce?  Michael Bouquard walks through the basic technical steps – including technical requirements, shooting angles, light, sound, and editing – to make quality short video for your social media.

Required (free) software for presentation: DaVinci Resolve

Michael Bouquard is currently the Media Specialist for the Department of Media Study at the University at Buffalo. In addition, he freelances as a location sound mixer, boom operator, sound designer, post sound editor and mixer, as well as film editor in the film and television industry. Clients include CBS Sports, the NFL, NFL Films, NFL Network, the NHL, Hockey Night in Canada, NBC Sports, Bar Stool Sports, Frito Lay, Gillette, Bit Coin, NOVA Docs series, Pfizer, NPR, the U. S. Dept of Justice, Good Nature, and Apple Music.

April 5 @ 1:00pm: Sumesh Thakur - "Organizing Data for an Audience"

Sumesh Thakur holds degrees from California State University – Long Beach (Film) and UCLA (Engineering).  He was President of Oceanwatch Production Group before joining Red Bull Media House.  He has a vast portfolio of skills as an independent consultant ranging from video production, television, and film to marketing strategy, brand development, and advertising.

April 6 @ 1:00pm: Christy Francis - "Website Architecture: Finding the Mix of Aesthetics and Functionality"

"I love your work, do you have a website?"  It's always great to hear this question, and even better when you have a stunning site to share. So, how do you build one that showcases the best parts of your brand? We'll chat best practices, including: function and design of your website, how it links with your broader online presence, managing it to your resources.  At the conclusion of our session, you'll have your very own website, and a better understanding of how to make it a dynamic extension of your brand.

Christy Francis is the co-founder of Fresh Batch Insights, specializing in qualitative market research for organizations across a variety of industries. She helps clients build an ever-evolving narrative that sees consumers as a culture, not a collection of static data points. Her work is often the foundation for compelling marketing, branding, and product development.  Christy holds a BS in Business Administration, Concentration in Finance, and an MBA from the University at Buffalo.  In addition to her work within the marketing realm, Christy is an illustrator and photographer. She owns and operates Avery & Harlow, an online art business named for her twin daughters. 

April 7 @ 10:30am: Kate Glaser - "The Power Of Storytelling in Unlocking Your Brand"

Kate Glaser, Founder of Hope Rises, will discuss growing her brand from a small, community blog to a global, viral media platform with a giveback mission in under 5-years. Through the power of storytelling, a consistent and strong brand voice and strategic social media efforts, many small businesses and companies can adapt this too for their own brands. Learn more from Kate on branding (both personal and professional), marketing, internal and external communication and how that leads to ultimate success.

Kate Glaser is the Founder of Hope Rises, a media network that now spans the globe, averaging a 45-million monthly reach. Born and raised in WNY, she is has been devoted to good causes including careers at both Make-A-Wish WNY and Mercy Flight. She was also a television reporter and producer at both News 4 and Spectrum News with a start at NY1 News in Manhattan. Kate was recently featured in Woman's Day Magazine as a nationwide “Hope Hero”, is a "30 Under 30" Recipient, Nextstar Nation's "Remarkable Woman of 2020", a Woman of Distinction by the State Assembly and Buffalo State’s Professional Achievement Award recipient for her important work in the community. You can see Kate every week on New 4’s Daytime Buffalo show for her Hope Rises segment. Kate puts her career near the top but her main priority is being a proud mom of three young children.

You must register for the week; one registration gets you into every session.  To register, click here.

10:20am - 1:00pm, On Site at Kleinhans Music Hall

Lauren Becker (Archivist, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra) has been graciously leading this annual tour for our students for a number of years now.  Join us as we hear all about this history of Kleinhans Music Hall, and how it fits into the context of the large musical landscape in Buffalo.  For a bit more about Lauren and her work, see this article from 2016 that was published in Artvoice by Jan Jezioro: https://bpo.org/kleinhans-music-hall-history-preserved-jan-jezioro-artvoice/

12 noon - 4:00pm, various locations on North Campus, venue map forthcoming

Inhabiting Spaces:  A Site-Specific Showcase is a two-day event featuring collaborative performance works by students in Melanie Aceto’s Choreography II class and Tiffany Du Mouchelle’s Opera Studio class.

Inhabiting Spaces is a three-year project involving faculty and students from the College of Arts and Sciences, along with multiple community partners.  Arts Management student Lili Stern assists with production management or event coordination.

The focus of this project is collaboration through multi-disciplinary artistic creation. With sites chosen from indoor and outside spaces throughout SUNY Buffalo’s North Campus, artists will come together to create an art-tour of experiences, each exploring the unique qualities of the chosen location and environment including, but not limited to: the designated purpose of the space, architectural elements of the location, and acoustical phenomena within the structure. The performance of the works created will be presented in the form of a walking experiential art-tour.

In addition, the showcase event will integrate with normal foot-traffic within each location, offering a “pop-up” event for those who are active in the location, but might not be aware of the experiential tour simultaneously being presented.

More information: https://ubwp.buffalo.edu/inhabiting-spaces/

4:00 - 6:00 pm | Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center (341 Delaware Ave)

Please join us in the cinema space at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center!

In this talk, The Oakland Museum of California serves as a prism to explore the concept of engagement in museum theory and practice. Often invoked by museum marketers, engagement’s deeper socio-cultural dimensions and the evolution of this term and concept are under-explored. The Oakland Museum, founded in 1969 as an interdisciplinary museum for its urban community, has spearheaded different forms and applications of engagement. Discussing this one important example sheds light onto broader questions: Can meaningful and critical forms of engagement help the embattled institution museum to regain the public trust that has been strained as museums struggle to define their identity in a neoliberal, market-driven society and as they face calls to decolonize?

Sponsored by UB Humanities Institute

2:00 - 5:30pm, Baldy 113

Second year students will defend their final projects and theses to Arts Management faculty, students, and invited guests.  This work is the culminating experience for students in the Program.  Their work will tackle a variety of concepts including the influence of advocacy on foundation funding, feminism in China, entrepreneurship in arts fields, and discussions of constraint (financial, capacity, thematic) on arts management practice.