Artistic Direction and General Management
From concerts, film festivals, theater performances or comic conventions - cultural events offer an escape from daily life, encourage us to see the world from different perspectives and create spaces for communication and exchange. Not only do creative processes have to be directed in order to make all of this possible, but also responsibility has to be taken for the realization of such formats. Carrying that responsibility is a general manager's job. They are the heads of culutural instituions or formats, such as theaters, opera houses, broadcasters, orchestras, festivals or anything similar.
Depending on the size of the institution, their tasks range from the management of individual departments to bearing the overall responsibility for the institution’s operations. They often take on a variety of tasks from content-related artistic activities such as the program planning or directing to conventional management tasks such as staff management or press and public relations.
General managers in the arts are responsible for the selection, recruitment and coordination of artistic staff and ensure that the artistic concept or program is realized with due regard for the available resources. They are the representatives of their institution or festival to the public and work closely with individual departments and committees such as directors, production managers, program planning, dramaturgs, etc. Overall, they are responsible for the organizational management.
Most general managers must be able to give proof of many years of practical experience in the cultural sector, meaning that they usually start out with related activities, e.g. as assistant director, assistant to the general manager, dramaturge or in production.
Developing artistic visions and thinking and planning entrepreneurially
There are many parallels between working as a general manager for a cultural institution and working as a typical management positions for a company. Organizational tasks such as financial planning and staff management tend to dominate. Therefore, general managers should have good leadership and decision making skills, as well as the willingness to take risks and make strategic and conceptual plans. Simultaneously, general management is rooted in culture, signifying that the content of what is being managed will always be significant. Pure management types without any knowledge of the cultural landscape, artistic concepts, trends or creative working conditions will have a hard time here, seeing how it isn't just about the acquisition and management of the artists involved, but also articulating visionary ideas for one's own institution and establishing its position in the local or even international cultural landscape.
Unlike general management, artistic direction is not concerned with the overall organization of the institution or event, but specifically with the responsibility for the artistic concept, i.e. the artistic design, composition and coordination of the program. Individual tasks are, depending on the field, the supervision and selection of works, collections, movies, etc. as well as the coordination of the individual artists. Since artistic direction can be limited to individual artistic fields, depending on the industry, genre and field of activity, it includes such diverse professions as director, conductor, choreographer, art director, game developer, etc.
Depending on the size of the institution, artistic and organizational direction may also be combined into a single position. For positions as a general manager, as well as creative director, one should definitely gain experience in the envisioned cultural field beforehand to have a certain expertise on common topics of debate or processes. The bigger and more renowned a format, the higher the entry hurdles and the more experience is required. Therefore, if you're looking to realize cultural projects quickly, it's best to have a look at smaller festivals or formats or even try setting something up on your own.
