Excellent post – I have mixed feelings about what you are recommending.

Yes, there’s no question that arts training often prepares students for careers that they may not come close to devoting the time and energy that they’d like – the exact same thing happens in the dance world.

But at the same time, students don’t seek out these programs for the practical, real-world skills that they might acquire in such programs – they do it to pursue their art, their passion.

Doug, Thank you for your comment. I agree with you that student’s don’t seek out arts programs for practical, real-world skills, but it is the responsibility of those who design coursework for fields of study to teach them what they need to know to sustain in them. I agree with you that students should pursue their passion WHOLE HEARTEDLY.

I simply think to do that for a lifetime, and not simply intensely for four years in college, requires training in entrepreneurship to advance artistically, creatively and financially in the world of art. Having hired, observed, taught, and coached artists for over twenty years, I know teaching entrepreneurial behavior alongside artistry would allow artists to continue doing what they love most forever and be paid for it…. Lisa Canning