The mention of an artist immediately brings forth images of painters, sculptors, potters etc. hard at work in the pursuit of some fine creations. However, the field of art has grown greatly and there are many allied jobs that have emerged that rally around the core work. Art administration is one such activity that has secured great importance especially in the past few decades.



Art Administrator Tasks

Art administrator plays a vital role in the arts sphere and handles several tasks. Some of the key activities include:

1. The most important activity of an art administrator is to conceptualize and organize events to promote various artists and their creations. These events are important platforms, especially for budding artists to get recognized among connoisseurs.

2. Such promotional events are organized by arts administrators under the umbrella of various groups like museums, art galleries, theaters, community arts organizations, universities, arts centers, arts councils, arts boards and even government bodies. The events include arts exhibitions, festivals and fairs.

3. As a part of the organization of these events, art administrators need to handle the entire logistics of the events like venue, coordinating with the artists, finances, press and public relations, security and ticket sales.

4. They are also responsible for meeting prominent corporate houses or creative agencies to sponsor the artistic events.

5. Yet another major task is promotion and marketing of the event so as to increase the reach as much as possible. This involves wide scale publicity through various channels like print and online advertising, email marketing, publicity leaflets and extensive media coverage.

6. Often there is a great demand for the artists outside a country. The administrators must arrange for foreign tours and handle all the logistics involved in it.

7. One of their greatest tasks is to manage the security of the creations as even a minor damage can be very expensive and can spoil the entire look. Thus, they must make arrangements for the security against any damages arising from transport, fire, incorrect handling and storage.

8. Administrators also need to conduct regular market surveys and be aware of the changing public tastes and preferences.

9. The administrators recruit assistants and junior staff and train them for specific work.

10. While organizing events for larger organizations they must constantly report to the senior management and the board of directors.

It is not necessary for art administrators to be artists themselves, but it is always an addition if they have a keen artistic sense. This allows them to observe even the finer details in the creations and promote it accordingly.

Salary

The average salary for arts administrators in the US is in the range of $90,310 to $95,000. Candidates working for museums and larger companies fall in the higher bracket. To get into such companies, it is important to have a very good art administration resume. It is recommended to research maximum sample resumes to create a favourable impression.

Also, the remuneration varies according to locations. For e.g. larger cities like New York and Los Angeles and art hubs like Paris and Milan can fetch sizeable remunerations.

Art administrators contribute to the arts field as much as the artists themselves and are very important to represent it before a larger audience.