Arts & International Affairs Volume 5, Number 1, Summer 2020 | Page 46

EMPOWERMENT AND DIGITIZATION IN ARTS MANAGEMENT EDUCATION
nology education is not a technical subject. It is a branch of the humanities” (191). Did
anybody think of this when designing arts management curriculae?
Nevertheless, there surely has been quite a lot of development in the sector�unfortunately
not so much in education.
Just to give an example of how the rise of digital technology has helped generalize the
process of buying a piece of art that was previously monopolized by auction houses’
regular customers. Online marketplaces selling affordable artworks are popping up and
reshaping the rules of offer and demand. Thousands of unknown artists now have access
to an online market, taking care of all of the buying and promoting processes. This
is praised as a kind of democratisation, because it helps to get around gatekeepers like
curators. Others say that it is exactly this that blurs the line and that quality needs the
protection of experts.
The arts change because of this “digital turn”�new art forms emerge that we have to
familiarize ourselves with. My students just recently presented an artist they find interesting
and who “paints” with his smart phone.
Rembrandt is coming out of the printer; music is composed by artificial intelligence.
Figure 3: (dpa/picture alliance/ANP/Robin van Lonkhuijsen).
Ability to Access and Evaluate Information
At the centre of what media literacy in arts management education should be is the ability
to access and evaluate information. We are aware that many people in the world are
not able to access all information available online, e.g., colleagues in China or Kashmir.
Cutting people off from information can be a very powerful tool to oppress them.
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