UNC Greensboro’s Arts Administration Program adds Museum Studies Concentration and New Faculty

There are many ways to live a life in the arts, and many of those ways are behind the scenes, sometimes WAY behind the scenes.  For every successful artistic experience, there is likely an arts administrator with a combination of creative passion and business sense, juggling a myriad of tasks to make it happen.

Now in its fifth year, the Arts Administration program at UNC Greensboro’s College of Visual and Performing Arts continues to fuel that field.  There are 47 alumni working in organizations like Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, Burning Coal Theatre in Raleigh, NC Theatre in Raleigh, The Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, Florida Studio Theatre, and The Richmond Forum.

Current enrollment includes 117 majors and 37 minors in the program, and this year the program is adding an Art Museum Studies Concentration and hiring a highly experienced administrator and artist to help manage that area.

Director Hannah Grannemann says she’s thrilled to have Jennifer Reis join the CVPA.

“Jennifer brings vast professional and teaching experience in arts administration and arts entrepreneurship. She will be a valuable asset to our students, especially those interested in careers in art museums, galleries and starting their own ventures in the arts industry. Jennifer will be an important influence on the new Art Museum Studies Concentration and in the continued development of the Program.”

Jennifer Reis joins UNCG after 19 years at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY, where she was Gallery Director of the Golding-Yang Art Gallery, Coordinator and Faculty in the Arts Entrepreneurship & Administration Minor Program, and founder of the Morehead State University Arts and Humanities Council. For the past 13 years, she has also consulted and taught arts entrepreneurship and professional business practices for artists. Jennifer previously held positions at the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, the Columbus Museum of Art, and the Cave Run Rock n’ Blues n’ BBQ Festival. She holds an MA in Museum Studies from Syracuse University, an MA in Studio Art with an Art Education emphasis and a BFA in Studio Art from the Columbus College of Art & Design. Jennifer is also a practicing fiber artist, whose work can be seen at www.jenniferannreis.com.

Grannemann says the growth of the UNCG Arts Administration Program will enhance all areas of the CVPA.

“Many people ask me what Arts Administration is. I describe it as ‘business of the arts’. I also think of arts administration more broadly as making it possible for art and audiences to connect. The Arts Administration Program at UNC Greensboro provides education and training for an area of the arts with meaningful career paths and a significant number of employment opportunities for our graduates. With about 40% of Arts Administration majors also majoring in one of the Schools in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, an Arts Administration degree is an excellent complement to a fine arts or arts education degree.”

For more information about the UNC Greensboro Arts Administration program visit https://vpa.uncg.edu/home/arts-administration/