Date

21 March 2021

“Befriend other students, the professors, your landlord and everyone. IED has a very rich global network of professionals and corporate institutions, benefit from it”.

The Master course in Arts Management is a grand tour in art featuring a unique itinerant formula that merges art with several business realities, allowing the acquisition of wide-ranging skills and competences students can use in different fields. 

A special focus is put on the organization of events, as at the end of each module students have to design and manage an event related to art and culture. 

“When choosing IED and this program specifically” Joya Sfeir recalls “I was mostly tempted by its international aspect and the combination between a creative subject and management. All my expectations related to the cultural and artistic experience I would get were highly met” she affirms.

“Coming from the Middle East, where Art is not necessarily a cultural priority, and where although initiatives are many especially in Lebanon, it was great to experience European cultural policies and the interest the Italian state puts on preserving its cultural heritage but most importantly, I understood the responsibility that our generation has in reinforcing this interest in our countries too but also focusing on its contemporary aspect and its future in a world less restricted by boundaries between nations and cultures”

The Master course builds a central figure for the life of cultural institutions who deals with art project management. These professionals are capable of identifying innovative content, structuring a comprehensive event schedule, planning and developing fundraising events and resource management.

“We had the chance” Joya tells us “to organize an exhibition in Florence, the ART You Mine, and an art event in Rome, The F Word. Moreover, we had a workshop at the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice. They all brought me to where I am today and I am grateful for my Italian experience”.

Joya is currently working as a Program Manager in Ettijahat – Independent Culture, a cultural institution promoting independent culture in Syria and the region. 

She has been working on several research programs such as “Research: To Strengthen the Culture of Knowledge”, a capacity-building program aiming to provide guidance and the opportunity for Syrian young researchers to operate within the field of cultural studies; and “Amaken” – an initiative supporting Syrian artists, researchers, and cultural directors in the creative process by providing opportunities for networking between Syrian artists and their peers by facilitating their presence in creative platforms through the mediums of theatre, cinema, cultural research, and graphic design.

Eventually, Joya was keen to give a simple yet effective advice to all the new students:

“Befriend other students, the professors, your landlord and everyone. IED has a very rich global network of professionals and corporate institutions, benefit from it”.

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