World-Renowned Arts Management Institute Opens at UMD

'American Cities' Program to Expand to Baltimore and Los Angeles in 2015; DeVos Institute and UMD Faculty to Partner on Study of Diversity and Technology in the Arts

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University of Maryland

Sep 08, 2014, 12:00 ET

COLLEGE PARK, Md., Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The world-renowned DeVos Institute of Arts Management, a premier organization for training and supporting arts leadership, officially opened at the University of Maryland. Michael M. Kaiser, a foremost expert in arts management and former president of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, together with Institute president Brett Egan, will lead the DeVos Institute at UMD.

UMD and the DeVos Institute today announced two major initiatives: Expansion of the 'American Cities' program; and the launch of a pair of projects to study two pressing issues facing arts communities around the globe.

The "American Cities" program, launched by the DeVos Institute in such cities as Miami, Detroit and New York City, provides an in-depth two-year arts management training in select American cities. Beginning in February 2015, the program will launch in Baltimore. Together with partners including the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance and Maryland Humanities Council, the program will include seminars, webinars, and consultations for managers and board members of leading arts institutions in Baltimore. The "American Cities" program will also expand to Los Angeles in late 2015.

The DeVos Institute will also commence work on two major studies in close collaboration with UMD faculty: Diversity in the Arts and Technology in the Arts.

"Our new home at the University of Maryland permits the DeVos Institute to work with talented faculty and staff on these critical issues that challenge our field," said Kaiser. "Through dialogues with industry leaders and a series of academic forums, we will focus on the challenges facing African American and Latino arts institutions throughout the United States today. We will also be exploring the ways new technologies are affecting arts institutions, including the way we make our art and the ways we market our programs. We are thrilled to join such a vibrant academic community."

"The University of Maryland prides itself on having outstanding arts programs, and the addition of the DeVos Institute will provide an incredible boost for our students, faculty and staff," said President Wallace D. Loh. "We are all looking forward to developing partnerships and connections between the Institute and our faculty in a wide range of disciplines."

The DeVos Institute will also work closely with the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, the College of Arts and Humanities and other campus units on an international fellowship program, student internships at the Institute, and a planned series of seminars for the campus community. The DeVos Institute and UMD will soon begin exploring the possibility of a master's program in arts management.

Founded by Kaiser in 2001 after he became president of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the DeVos Institute trains, supports and empowers arts managers and their boards. It has advised thousands of individuals, organizations, governments and foundations throughout the United States and in over 80 countries on six continents. The DeVos Institute's offices, staff, and leadership team will have offices in the Ronald Reagan Building in downtown Washington, DC.

Additional information about the DeVos Institute is available at www.DeVosInstitute.umd.edu.

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SOURCE University of Maryland