Madelyn Stewart (MA ’25) shares how her Bolz Center for Arts Administration master’s degree helped her gain valuable skills and insights, and what she’s giving back to Madison’s arts community in return.
By Maggie Ginsberg, Division of the Arts
Madelyn Stewart (MA ’25) first came to Madison from out of state in 2024 because the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the Wisconsin School of Business checked every box on her graduate school list. Now, only a year later, she can’t imagine leaving.
“I’m starting two new jobs in Madison with arts organizations I now know so well, LunART and Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras,” Madelyn says. “I think I’m going to learn so much from both organizations. I’m ecstatic.”
We caught up with the recent graduate shortly after she returned from a dream summer internship with Bravo! Vail Music Festival in Colorado, where she put her Bolz Center experience into practice, and gleaned even more skills that she could apply back to Madison. We asked her what she wants everyone to know about the value of arts administration degrees in today’s job market.
Bolz is the world’s first and only graduate-level arts administration graduate program founded and based in a business school.
“I chose UW–Madison because the Bolz Center had everything I wanted: project-based, in-person instruction with a really great internship experience built in through the Applied Learning Placement program,” Madelyn says of the one-year, accelerated MA in Arts and Creative Enterprise Leadership degree aimed at arts administrators, nonprofit executives, and social entrepreneurs. Once she got to Bolz, she found more resources than she ever imagined, from education on donor cultivation and stewardship cycles to career coaching with School of Business Associate Director of Career Management Caitlin Hunter. “I never had a career coach before, and Caitlin really gave each of the Bolz students super individualized attention,” Madelyn says. “She revolutionized the way that I interview, and she completely transformed my resume and just made me look so good in the hiring process.”
Applied Learning Placements are mutually beneficial.
For the Applied Learning Placement portion of her degree, Bolz Center Associate Director Rebecca Buckman connected Madelyn with LunART, a Madison-based nonprofit that supports women in the arts through performances, exhibitions, workshops and collaboration. “One thing the Bolz Center does so well is integrate that Applied Learning Placement program into what you do in the classroom,” Madelyn says. “In Director Sarah Marty’s seminar course we did a marketing audit project, a faux-grant writing project, a development audit — all things I could bring back to LunART that were really valuable to them.”
Bolz alum and Arts Business Competition winners become community employers.
LunART was founded by internationally renowned musician Dr. Iva Urgcic (DMA ’17), who completed her doctoral minor in arts administration through the Bolz Center and took second place with her LunART business plan in the 2017 Arts Business Competition. Not only did LunART provide Madelyn with the perfect internship opportunity, but it ultimately translated into a job offer: Beginning in August 2025, she’ll transition to the organization’s part-time operations manager. “It’s probably my favorite job I’ve ever had,” Madelyn says. “One of the biggest things I’ve already learned from LunART is how much even a small team can accomplish under really good leadership.”
UW–Madison positioned her to snag (and slay) the Colorado internship this summer.
“It’s been a whirlwind summer. I was intentionally looking for an organization with a larger structure and more intense schedule while also witnessing incredible music and being part of what makes that happen for a community,” says Madelyn, noting that she leveraged the time management and communication skills she’d honed at Bolz to navigate 40-hour work weeks filled with numerous events and high-profile stakeholders. “The Bolz Center really prepared me to talk to and recognize these donors as people, as well as customers to the organization.”
Now back in Madison, she can put it all together.
Bravo! Vail is one of the largest nonprofits in the Vail Valley, and Madelyn took note of the way the local business community supported the area’s arts nonprofits. “I took a lot of notes about how Bravo! Vail cultivates those relationships with corporate sponsors, and spent a lot of time learning how to steward local businesses, just like you would steward donors.” Back in Madison, her connections in the local arts community led to a second part-time job offer, this one as the Development and Grants Coordinator at Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras. “I’ve worked with WYSO previously as they’re the venue partner for LunART, so I know their team pretty well already and I’m really, really excited.”
Art and business are more connected than you think.
Madeyln has a B.A. in choral music because of her passion for the arts, and that remains foundational to her life. “If you’re going into arts business, you probably have a personal connection to art — don’t lose sight of that. Keep your artistic endeavors present in your life,” she says, also stressing the importance of mentorship and networking. But her ultimate goal is to become a leader in the industry. “I chose a business degree specifically because I wanted to develop the business acumen, because both art and money make the world go round,” she says. “Art enriches communities, and art takes resources. It’s our job to organize those resources so that our communities can enjoy the art. That’s really important, especially in today’s world.”