Arts Business Initiative

of the Bolz Center for Arts Administration

The Arts Business Initiative empowers artists of all ages and disciplines to fuel and inspire the culture of our community, the state of Wisconsin, and beyond. It provides support and training and teach the strategic skills today’s artists need to take leadership in the creative economy.

University of Wisconsin – Madison Partner Organizations

• Bolz Center for Arts Administration
• Wisconsin School of Business
• Division of the Arts
• Morgridge Center for Public Service

Key People

• Sherry Wagner-Henry | former Director, Bolz Center for Arts Administration
• Kate Hewson | Assistant Director for Academic Programs, UW–Madison Division of the Arts
  318 Lathrop Hall | 608-263-9290 |  kate.hewson@wisc.edu
• John Surdyk | Director of INSITE, Wisconsin School of Business
  5110c Grainger Hall | 608-263-2882 | john.surdyk@wisc.edu
• Angela Richardson | Aesthetics and Business Project Coordinator
  608-263-4161 | arichard@wisc.edu
• Sarah Marty | Lecturer, UW–Madison Division of the Arts
  321 Lathrop Hall | sarah.marty@wisc.edu
• Rebecca Buckman| Assistant Director, Bolz Center for Arts Administration
  3340 Grainger Hall | 608-263-4161 | rebecca.buckman@wisc.edu

Arts Entrepreneurship Courses

We want young, aspiring artists to succeed in their creative endeavors! The Wisconsin School of Business, the Division of Continuing Studies and the Division of the Arts partner to provide courses for developing, launching or advancing innovative enterprises in arts, culture and design. These courses are offered through the Bolz Center for Arts Administration.

The first Arts Enterprise: Art as Business as Art class was developed in 2009 through the Interdisciplinary Arts Residency program to offer business skills and foundational coursework in business and entrepreneurship to artists and other creatives on campus. Since then, the initiative has grown with the development of additional coursework; the connection of coursework and internship credit to the Certificate of Entrepreneurship, which is available to any student on campus; and coursework and training for BBA students in aesthetic development for leadership training.

• 495-320 Introduction to Arts Entrepreneurship (offered each fall semester)
• 495-322 Entrepreneurship in Arts and Cultural Organizations (offered each spring semester)

Arts Business Competition

The UW–Madison Division of the Arts runs the Arts Business Competition (formerly the New Arts Venture Challenge), a competition held each spring that provides funding to aspiring student arts entrepreneurs. Continue on to find out about the application process and explore previous successful finalists’ projects.

Arts Business Research & Symposium

The Bolz Center for Arts Administration is this country’s premier MBA program with a specialized educational focus that links arts and business practice. Every other year, we invite our alumni, guest presenters, and practitioners, as well as our colleagues at other university programs to come back to the University of Wisconsin–Madison for continued learning on current topics and trends in the arts and business research arena. In the alternate years, we share this symposium learning space with the Pave Program in Arts Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University through their Biennial Symposium on Entrepreneurship and the Arts.