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Testimonials from Atrs Administration Students
Paul Delaney:
"My name is Paul Delaney and I am a freelance Graphic Designer as well as an exhibiting Artist. I completed the Arts Administration course in 2010.
I joined the Arts Administration course to further my understanding of the administrational aspect of exhibiting artwork, and gain an insight into professional exhibition design.
My overall experience of the Arts Administration course was that it was hugely enjoyable, educational and invaluable to my career as an artist. The subjects that are offered are varied and highly considered, and I believe that this course is a prime example of how the spirit of encouragement, team-working, and the teaching of practical skills is the ideal learning scenario.
The course is centered on the organization of a large-scale exhibition of the college’s student artwork in the Cork Vision Centre, a gallery renowned in Ireland for its professionalism and broad range of artistic endeavors. What I found most impressive is that the Arts Administration course places its complete trust in its students to fully organise what is now a hugely popular and acclaimed exhibition. The event is designed, planned and carried out by the students under the expert guidance of the course staff. This results in a wonderful team-working environment, close friendships being formed, and a huge insight into just how much work is involved in the successful co-ordination of such an event. The day-to-day of this course is so enjoyable, so varied, and so fun!
As well as this, the work experience offered by this course is very impressive as places are given to students based on the interests they express. My work experience involved an internship at the Crawford Art Gallery. Again, this was a brilliant insight into the day-to-day running of an Art Gallery, and how the application of organizational skills and clear communication are imperative to its success.
It’s difficult to sum up this course in just a few paragraphs. The Arts Administration course is one-of-a-kind in this country. It caters to all the various reasons why someone may join, and encourages students to pursue their own path on the course based on their own aims. Personally, I left the course with a complete understanding of what professional exhibition design entails, and a huge amount of contacts at my disposal.
My career as an artist has been strengthened and my approach to its organizational aspect has taken on a much more professional approach. As well as this I have made some lifelong friends, and a sense that the course offers continued support even after graduation. I hold this course in the highest regard, and so admire the learning environment it is based on."
Deirdre Finn
"My name is Deirdre Finn a former Arts Administration student from Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa. I completed the course in 2005 and have had a very successful career in the Arts Sector since.
I have a BA in Fine Art from the Crawford College of Art & Design, which was great;, but, found it impossible to find a job afterwards. So I decided to get a qualification in Arts Administration, and the course in Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa suited me. My work experience gave me the opportunity to get my leg in the door of Arts organisations that would normally not be in a position to employ me. Because Arts organisations receive little funding, they rely on volunteers and people on work experience. The Arts Administration course is thought of highly in the Arts in Cork and because of this a large number of students find employment through their work experience. As I did, I was employed on a part time basis in The Lewis Glucksman Gallery where I received enough experience to apply for a position in the Triskel Arts Centre. I was employed in the Visual Arts department in Triskel for two years. I am now the Festival Administrator for the Cork Midsummer Festival since 2007."
Jeanienne McCarthy:
"I graduated from the Crawford College of Art and Design in 2007 and after a year of trying to find employment of any kind in the arts sector I decided I needed to improve my skills base. I looked at courses in England but found the AAA course in Stiofáin Naofa that promised to equip and proved me with good work experience and technical skills. This was the only course like it in Ireland! Having graduated from AAA June 2009 and I am now employed by the oldest and largest commercial gallery in Cork City (The Lavit Gallery - there is now only three left in the city).
When I joined the AAA course I found that my classmates came from musical, theatre, community arts and fine art backgrounds. Some like me had recently graduated from 3rd level education, others had come from the work place and we all varied in age.
The main reason many of us took this course was to develop our IT skills such as invitation, poster, leaflet and booklet design etc. Also we wanted to receive meaningful work experience. These are the skills that, from my experience, employers look for. These two factors without doubt contributed enormously to my current successful employment.
Arts Administration is a course built around ‘the arts’- this includes fine art, music, theatre, literature, and community arts. It is taught in and around artistic facilities inside and outside the college. It is an intense course where all modules feed into one another. It provides essential skills to anyone wanting to work in the arts sector. It is specific to the arts sector (which is a varied area) but open to so many individuals from so many backgrounds."
Finola Horgan,
2006-07 Arts Admin.
"Arts Administration is a very important course for many reasons. To me personally it was a direct factor in my current employment (I was placed on work experience on a one day a week basis over a number of weeks – at the end of my year in Arts Admin., the company called me for an interview and I have since been employed as part of that company). What I learned throughout the duration of the course has been integral to what my job consists. The practical skills I acquired as well as the theory covered – I cannot stress how important they were and are.
I believe that, in fact, Arts Administration is a field which will continue to grow over the next number of years.
As part of my job I prepare Press Releases for the Media, be it print, television, radio as well as for websites and so on. The Writing for the Arts Sector module prepares the students for one of the most basic requirements of any job in today’s society.
The CHNTO validation is another fundamental part of the course that, to some-one who wishes to get into the Arts Administration field, is a vital component of the Arts world. The experience I gained at Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa with Carol White and the Arts Administration course from putting together an off-campus exhibition and everything that entailed, to the work experience I also gained, makes it of utmost importance to keep the course as it is – Arts Administration."
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