CCM Arts Administration students use their skills to impact their hometowns over summer break

"My favorite project this summer was collaborating on 'Paint the Town with Love' with the Upper Peninsula Children's Museum," Flannery says. "It was an opportunity for families to create a large art project together while sending the message to our community that creativity and love are what will get us through these tough times."

In addition to volunteer and administrative work, Flannery wrote a research paper concerning “The Economic Impact of the Arts and Culture Industry.” Focused on arts advocacy, this paper explores how dollars spent in arts organizations help the entire community. Research like this will positively impact arts organizations around the country as officials learn the importance of investing in the arts.  

"I came to the program with five years of arts administration experience," Flannery says. "My first year in the Arts Administration program at CCM reinforced many of the principles I learned in the job field, but also equipped me with knowledge of the important considerations and decisions that managers need to make to face the myriad of issues in the sector."

Franklin also worked with the River City Drum Corp and Dream Yard, where she worked with students in underserved communities. Franklin also applied her arts administration skills to passion projects like assisting her brother Troy Anthony, who produces performances to uplift marginalized communities through music and encouragement.

In a time so uncertain, these students felt equipped to tackle the struggles arts organizations and nonprofits are facing during the pandemic.

"My year in the Arts Administration program has prepared me for this past summer," Franklin says. "The program has taught me to think quickly and critically of the ways I can use my skills."

During the fall semester, Franklin is interning at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion department. Flannery’s semester plans include researching topics in international cultural policy as well as the economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on artists and arts organizations.

"I will also continue to keep up on current events, especially the conversation around racial justice and equity, to ensure I am properly listening, learning and doing my best to be part of the solution” Flannery says.

While this summer presented new challenges for everyone, these two students overcame obstacles to gain rich professional experiences. In addition to seeing how the skills they are learning at CCM can be used to help any organization, they also saw how those skills can positively impact their communities as a whole.