Hello! My name is Emma Jenks and I am a sophomore Music Major with concentrations in Management Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies. My primary instrument is piano, but I play violin in the St. Olaf Philharmonia and sing alto in the St. Olaf Chapel Choir as well. I am also the Artistic Administrator of Spiritus Novus, a chamber choir that premiers new compositions from composers on campus. Other important things to know about me are that I love the color green, but not lime green more like dark pine tree green, I love French composers, the sun, Harry Potter, the TV show Friends, and one of my goals in life is to be a leader of positivity.
I decided to take this course because one of the things I am interested in making a career out of is arts management, likely in arts funding. I am passionate about this career path for many reasons, but firstly because it is frustrating to continue hearing about how arts programs in schools (or elsewhere) are less important than other programs like sports. I believe that art is an incredibly important part of our lives because it has way more power than we give it credit for. Art can open the door to vulnerability, which allows it to twist our emotions, change our perspectives, and it helps us learn about ourselves and others. It is also frustrating and it doesn’t make sense to me that there is such a high demand for arts entertainment1 but that there is so little money in the field2. How do people think they can enjoy the hard work of a musician or artist if they refuse to give this artist any money?
I am excited and eager to learn about how the government exactly plays a role in arts funding and what kind of power they have over it. I am also excited to simply be in D.C.! I have never been and I’ve heard so often that everyone should go in their lifetime. I’m a little nervous about living in a big city with a highly charged political climate, but I know we will all adjust together and learn so much from being in a new city.
I look forward to waking up bright and early Sunday morning to begin this super awesome experience!
1 Iyengar, Sunil, Bonnie Nichols, Patricia Moore Shaffer, Bushra Akbar, and Melissa Menzer. April 2019. “Artists and Other Cultural Workers: A Statistical Portrait,” National Endowment for the Arts, p. xii, figure ES7. https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Artists_and_Other_Cultural_Workers.pdf.
2 Iyengar, Sunil, Bonnie Nichols, Patricia Moore Shaffer, Bushra Akbar, and Melissa Menzer. April 2019. “Artists and Other Cultural Workers: A Statistical Portrait,” National Endowment for the Arts, p. 25, figure 4a. https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/Artists_and_Other_Cultural_Workers.pdf.