Introduction
Administrative Resource Team (ART) was a two and one half-year research project designed to examine the benefits and impacts of a full complement of administrative support services on dance artists’ development and growth. ART received major support from The Scherman Foundation’s Katharine S. and Axel G. Rosin Fund, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, The Howard Gilman Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund Charles E. Culpeper Arts and Culture, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
“If only I had this, I could be that!” is a common refrain echoing in today’s art economy. What if artists had the administrative service they needed at their fingertips? Would they tour more? Earn more money? Reach wider audiences? Establish deeper community connections? Diversify their projects and collaborators? Get that coveted grant? Finally set their sights not only inward but outward?
The goal of ART was to support selected artists with a range of services as well as to obtain measurable, empirical evidence toward answering these questions. ART provided comprehensive, infrastructure building and artistic guidance, including mentoring and administrative staffing, to support artists as they implement their artistic vision, improve business and administrative practices, and increase income. Building upon past Pentacle programs Help Desk® (mentorship) and Back Office (infrastructure & management support), ART combined and expanded these services in order to track the efficacy of bundled (team-based coordinated) capacity building. Artists in the capacity-building cohort could use up to 200 hours of one-on-one mentorship and 10 hours a week of a dedicated administrator each year during the 2.5 years of the program.