By Miya Williams
Kathleen Hudson originally wanted to be the star of an opera, but over the years her interest turned toward running the show.
“I believe deeply in this particular art form,” she said. “I want to be on the ground floor of influencing the landscape of opera in America as it struggles to remain relevant and accessible to audiences.” (more…)
By Leslie Zhu
While watching Ferris Bueller’s Day Off recently, I thought about the famous scene at the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC). I wondered, what if the museum launched a social media event called “A Day Off at AIC”?
I soon learned that the museum has already recreated the movie scene in a more genius way: when their president Douglas Druick retired after thirty years, the museum gave him a “Director Druick’s Day Off.”
Robby Sexton, who played Ferris Bueller in the tribute video, is the social media manager at AIC. On April 17, he came to our Marketing Strategies in Creative Enterprises course to talk to MSLCE students and reveal some secrets behind the social media management at AIC.
From Robby’s perspective, the AIC’s three social media platforms, which include Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, are in a relationship with their visitors. The relationship is built through content marketing, nurtured by community management, and honed through optimization and measurement. The three steps are the secret of social media strategy at the museum. Students received some great examples from Sexton about how he puts these into action, like how they used Twitter and Instagram influencers to deepen personalized engagement during AIC’s historic exhibition Van Gogh’s Bedrooms.
Social media specialists seem to be the most versatile staff at the museum. They must have a great aesthetic sense and a rich art knowledge, which they rely on to craft thoughtful, detailed posts. At the same time, it is also necessary for them to understand marketing, communication, data analysis, psychology, globalization and even crisis management. They work in an industry changing at an unbelievable speed, which forces them to work with high intensity in order to not fall behind. For example, since the Los Angeles County Museum of Art succeeded in using Snapchat for the first time, AIC is likely going to act on their own plans to launch a Snapchat account in the near future.
In addition to being a hard worker, Sexton has an amiable personality and ample humor and wit, which he puts on display on the AIC’s social media accounts. In this digitalized world, what he creates will become the image of the museum.
By Leslie Zhu
The Mary and Leigh Block Museum in the Arts Circle at Northwestern is always my secret place to rest and learn in between my busy study schedule. I immerse myself a lot in their different exhibitions and screenings each quarter. I always see visitors other than students and faculty coming to the museum.
As a campus art museum, though, how can they have visitors from outside the campus? The answer was revealed in their Open House workshop for Open Engagement on April 2. (more…)
For the third year in a row, students went on a week-long trip to a media capital in the United States. This year, half the cohort went to Los Angeles and the other half to New York. This trip is a critical moment in the curriculum of the program to make the connection between theory and practice. Even though we have industry professionals visiting the campus throughout the academic year, the intensity associated with having an entire week of visits to leading companies in the creative sector and conversations with distinguished practitioners brings the educational experience of the program full circle. In the pages that follow you will read the students’ own accounts of the treks as a major moment of professional growth.
This year’s treks were a moment of growth in another, complementary way. For the past three treks, we have organized a networking event that includes Northwestern alumni from different parts of the creative sector and also at different stages in their respective career development. For the first time in the short history of the program, the receptions in both Los Angeles and New York included MSLCE graduates who are starting their professional journeys in each of these labor markets. Additionally. we brought our own alumni back in during the Spring quarter, hosting two graduates who now have full-time jobs in creative enterprises for a session about their internship experiences and how they helped them secure positions after graduation. Bringing our graduates back in is a signal of major growth for the program. We are particularly proud of this development given that MSLCE is not even three years old at this point.
The growth in the learning of our current students, the continued success of our graduates, and the record number of applications already received for fall admission—even though this process is still ongoing—converge to make this Spring a blooming season for MSLCE. So, stay tuned for more updates about this growth in the Summer newsletter!
Pablo J. Boczkowski
Professor, School of Communication
Faculty Director, MSLCE
By Miya Williams
MSLCE student Zoe Skehan doesn’t want to be limited to one thing.
The University of Redlands grad majored in art history and media studies and still maintains an interest in both fields. While her exact job title may still be unknown, she is certain of her end goal.
“I hope to be in a creative field working in a position that challenges me,” she said. (more…)
By Joe Giovannetti
On Monday, the MSLCE cohort entered their regular Professional Development class, taught by Mandi Glowen and Jonah Zeiger. However, rather than the usual lecture-format class, Glowen and Zeiger prepared an exciting panel with various guests in Chicago’s creative industries: Rebecca Adelsheim, a producer and dramaturg at Steppenwolf Theater Company, and Pat Niday, an implementation manager at Jellyvision.
The MSLCE cohort is nearing the end of the spring quarter, which means that the students are working toward securing a summer internship in the creative industries. Every student must complete a summer internship or thesis in order to complete the rigorous Master’s program, and for the students that began in the Fall of 2016, the internship marks their final experience prior to graduation. Naturally, the cohort was excited to gain insight about internships from two Chicago leaders that oversee the internship programs at their respective companies.
(more…)
By John Hounihan
Accounting and finance have long been defined as “the language of business.” No matter the sector, accounting, finance, and investing are sure to come up in the operation of organizations.
During the winter quarter in the MSLCE core class Introduction to Creative Enterprise, guest speaker Jim Bland elaborated on this adage, stating that accounting is also the science of business, and finance is the art. Bland, a West Point graduate from the world of private equity along with fellow panelist Constance Bowen of Northern Trust, visited class to speak on the everyday trials and tribulations of budgeting, buy ins, and speaking the language of business. (more…)
By Joe Giovannetti
Caring, Confidentiality, Candor, Commitment, and Compassion.
These are the 5 C’s that Susan Carver established during the MSLCE cohort’s first day-long seminar of the spring quarter: Cultural Intelligence and Managing Inclusion. Throughout the day, Carver would help move the students through activities that focused on the topics of assumptions, oppression, privilege, and taking action. (more…)
By Jacob Nelson
Don’t Think Twice, which Andy Bohn executive produced, is an obvious success story: it performed well at the box office, garnered a 99% “fresh” rating from the review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, and came in on budget.
And it’s now the biggest hit to come out of The Film Arcade, an independent film distribution company that Bohn co-founded and oversees as a partner.
It’s also a movie that had a highly unconventional release that included improv classes, special screenings, and a public radio icon. (more…)
By Lauren Vernea
During a recent EPICS Speaker Series, Northwestern alum Gregg Mettler visited campus to speak to students about his career and experiences in the entertainment industry.
Mettler is an Emmy-nominated comedy writer and producer based in LA. After graduating from Northwestern in 1994, he broke into the business as a staff writer on NBC’s 3rd Rock From The Sun. Some of his credits include: That 70’s Show, How to Live with Your Parents (For The Rest Of Your Life), and The Muppets. Currently, he is a co-executive Producer and showrunner on Man With A Plan starring Matt Leblanc. (more…)
