The Hindu Business Line : And now, arts management!

Do you know what Anand Mahindra, Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, studied at Harvard" asks Deborah Thiagarajan, art historian and President of the Madras Craft Foundation.

As you look at her intently, she says with great emphasis: art history, before she continues: "Art gives you a view of the world, and how things relate to each other. That's what you need in business."

"If all management is about how to make money, how to manage finance and the stock market, then you will have the rich urban and the totally disenfranchised rural. And who's going to bridge that gap" wonders the woman whose love for Indian culture resulted in her starting the Foundation.

Her angst over the country's education system is evident when she says it is besotted with science, maths and making money. She thinks the school system has failed in inculcating a love for culture and today schoolchildren are totally cut off from rural reality. But the future is not all dismal, she says, adding that the lacunae in the education system can be filled and social divides bridged by producing "competent managers with a wide perspective in the arts."

The Institute of Arts Management, run by the Madras Crafts Foundation has come up with an initiative — in the form of a formal course in arts management.

Into its second year, the one-year Diploma Course in Arts Management Internship, which is aided by the JRD Tata Trust, comprises modules on media and communication, management and planning, appreciation of arts, cultural studies and basic design.

Graduates with a decent knowledge of English and a "deep commitment interest in the arts/culture".

Faculty is drawn from various fields: Dr Muthukumaraswamy (Head, National Folklore Support Centre); Dr Padmavathy (art historian), Aarti Kalra (anthropologist) and Mani Iyer - former head of O&M.

The course fee is Rs 50,000, with deserving students getting a fellowship of up to Rs 30,000.

Preserving India's diverse cultures

But does one need a course to become efficient managers of arts and culture? "Today, culture is a very important aspect of economic development. There is a much higher concentration on culture than there has been in the past and that will only increase in the future. People travel a lot and are interested in how other people live." But superficial interest won't suffice. What is required is a deeper understanding of diverse cultures.

"Take all our performing folk arts; they are performed by the so-called untouchable castes. But they are going all over the world, because they are so exquisite. Fifteen years ago, nobody knew them except people in that region. But these arts will die out unless they are promoted and given more recognition. If you lose the practitioners, there will be a void; and all that we'll be left with is superficial western culture," she says.

Deborah rues that most of our museums and art galleries fail to entice tourists. "Museums are strong educational tools. But if you go to the various art galleries and museums, they do not tell the story to the visitors. How do you manage them so that they actually communicate?"

The need is for effective communication, marketing, financial acumen and management. "If you want to promote cultural tourism as world tourism, you need effective managers. We could use many people who could look at art and bring it down to a larger segment of people. You need people to put together and manage tourism projects in different areas," she says.

The role of the arts manager

Deborah throws more light on the need for arts management by citing the case of Dakshinachitra — a heritage resource centre near Chennai run by the Madras Craft Foundation, which presents South Indian culture by recreating village spaces and historical homes, and running craft bazaars. She says although Dakshinachitra is run like an NGO with a mission, it has to be self-sustaining. "How do you bring up an institution without management? You can have the best programmes, but nobody might come. You have to be able to communicate your product - you have to organise an event, network and find resource people. We need highly advanced skills; we need more well-rounded people. To create such people the course was started.

The students who pass out can work with art institutes, educational institutes, art galleries or even set up their own craft units or gallery. "Everyone needs competent managers. As a course, it is culturally oriented, but offers broad-based skills. One could work for a theatre group, the British Council, the Max Mueller Bhavan or on cultural tourism projects," says Deborah.

But how lucrative is this as a career? Salaries may not be commensurate to the industry, but as culture takes a prominent place, salaries will go up, she says. Students start off on their first jobs at an average Rs 10,000 and then go on to make more. "Our experience has been that we have taken people at lower salaries, trained them for one or two years at Dakshinachitra, and then they get jobs that fetch them between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000. Some of our people have gone to Scholastic India and Fab India," she adds.

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