Business and art are a bit like oil and water at times, but a new program at Wayne State University plans to begin successfully mixing the two this year.
The Artrepreneurship program is expected to give creatively-inclined graduate students at Wayne State the business skills necessary to turn their artistic passions into viable careers. The program, which originated out of the university's
Arts IMPACT incubator in TechTown, is set to begin recruiting students and building an advisory board now. Classes should begin in the fall with forums that mix business people with local artists.
"These people who are ready to make that commitment have a lot of energy and passion," says Anthony Lake, head of
Wayne State's Master of Fine Arts Theater Management program. "I always tell them you don't need to be an accountant but you need to understand what the accountant is saying."
The Artpreneurship program will include networking/business forums, one-on-one consulting, mentoring and teaching over three years. The end goal is to train these students how to turn their artistic craft into a sustainable livelihood. That includes everything from knowing how to put together a viable business plan to evaluating the needs of the market.
Source: Anthony Lake, head of Wayne State University's Master of Fine Arts Theater Management program
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at
SEMichiganStartup.com.
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