The M.A. Program in Arts Administration (ARAD) at Teachers College, Columbia University is pleased to announce the inaugural recipients of the Microgrant for student professionalization.

Through the newly-initiated Microgrant Program, ARAD proudly supports student professionalization activities on campus and beyond. This award champions special projects proposed by Teachers College student groups (with ARAD student membership), as well as conference attendance for individual students in the ARAD program. Applications were invited through an open call process, and vetted by an ARAD faculty and staff selection committee.

ARAD congratulates the following student groups and individuals on their 2015-16 academic year awards:

Black Student Network

The Black Student Network of Teachers College, Columbia University proudly exists in order to stimulate cultural and educational awareness of the cultural, intellectual, and social concerns of the African-American student body, to create unity, and foster change among the African-American community, the larger multicultural community, and the University community.

The ARAD Microgrant will provide videographer services for The Diversity in Research and Practice Conference, which is successfully entering its 7th annual year at Teachers College. This conference seeks to create a platform for sharing academic research that will impact and empower communities of color. The video captured using the ARAD Microgrant funds will serve as a promotional tool and document of the proceedings, but more importantly, will allow greater access to conference sessions to those who cannot be in attendance.

Student Advocates for the Arts

Founded in 2002 by graduate students in the Arts Administration program at Teachers College, Columbia University, Student Advocates for the Arts (SAA) engages students in hands-on lobbying, workshops on advocacy and cultural policy, and discussions on the American system for funding the arts. Our mission is to empower and represent student voices to influence legislation and policy affecting the arts and public arts funding.

The ARAD Microgrant will support a delegation of seven students to National Arts Advocacy day in Washington D.C. This trip provides students the opportunity to meet with leading arts policy-makers, attend workshops and other events hosted by Americans for the Arts, and advocate for arts issues with district representatives and state senators.

Andrea Núñez-Gamboa

Andrea Núñez-Gamboa is currently a second year Arts Administration M.A. student at Teachers College, Columbia University. Prior to her graduate studies, she completed a bachelor’s degree in Cultural Studies and Arts Management at the Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana in Mexico City. She later worked as the Director’s Assistant of the Cultural Affairs Department at the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey. Her interests lie in audience development and fundraising for contemporary arts organizations. She has held internships as the Development Intern at Art21 and as a Research and Administrative Intern at Contemporary Art Partners. Andrea has received grants from the Fulbright Program and Jumex Contemporary Art Collection.

Funding from the ARAD Microgrant will support Núñez-Gamboa’s participation in the Foro de Economíca y Cultura, a conference covering the intersection between the economy and culture, held in Mexico City. Núñez-Gamboa presented a paper at the conference on the processes and problems in cultural production.

Yukino Kondo

Yukino Kondo is a 2014 graduate of Ithaca College, with degrees in theatre studies and integrated marketing communications. Most recently, she completed a season-long management fellowship and a summer-long community engagement internship at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Previously, she has completed internships at the Hangar Theatre, AKA UK, and Pilobolus Dance Theatre, and she continues to provide freelance graphic design work for the theatre. Her passion for all forms of performing arts and interest in marketing has led her to pursue a career in arts administration, and she hopes to work for a large-scale performing arts organization.

The ARAD Microgrant will support Kondo’s attendance at the National Arts Marketing Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The conference will provide her with professional development and networking opportunities, as well as access to presentations and workshops on best practices in arts marketing.

For more information, contact the Arts Administration program:
artsadmin@tc.columbia.edu | 212-678-3268 |@ARADColumbia | Arts Administration Program, Teachers College, Columbia University