The Need for Fine Arts Students and Appreciating and Embrace Intercultural Diversity - Essay Example

Abstract Art is a revolutionary component in the world we live in be it in the contemporary society today or the early years. It is a great communication, incisive and enlightenment tool in the society in the past and presently apart from the aesthetic value it holds. Studying pieces of art as well as the men and women behind them can be of great benefit to art students and other members of the society. This report outlines the intricacies and feasibility of a proposed art event that will take part in the university from 17th to the 24th day of May, 2013. Enrico Gaurino and Marco Picci are two Italian greats that have been chosen for the event with their works being exhibited throughout the event. This report looks at the issues of financing, human resource, design and evaluation of the proposed event. Table of Contents Page Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….4 Intended audience………………………………………………………………………………5 Site design………………………………………………………………………………………6 The event……………………………………………………………………………….……….7 Legal issues……………………………………………………………………………….……10 Human resources……………………………………………………………………………..…10 Financing…………………………………………………………………………………….…10 Marketing………………………………………………………………………………………12 Event schedule…………………………………………………………………………………12 Evaluation…………………………………………………………………………….………..12 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….…….13 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….….….14 Art Event Planning Introduction From the ancient times, art has dominated the social world and has even generated or prompted the emergence of movements in the world. Pieces of art produced by renowned and talented men and women in the society have historically proved to have promoted human civilization as well as the heritage of mankind. Art is a great communication, incisive and enlightenment tool in the society in the past and presently apart from the aesthetic value it holds. Studying pieces of art as well as the men and women behind them can be of great benefit to art students and other members of the society. Europe has been a cradle land of great works of art and behind them are equally great personalities worth mentioning. Among the great European artists have been from the Italian nation with celebrated and influential artists like Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Michael Angelo among others coming out of the European nation (Mack, 2000). This report is therefore a feasibility study as well as a plan for the organization of an art event at the university. The paper will explore the possibility of holding the event in terms of financial, design, evaluation and human resource implications among other logistical issues that might arise. The report will clearly define the targeted audience, the actual design and proposed theme, the budget and expected ticket sales so that all aspects of the event is not overlooked. The chosen Italian artists are Enrico Gaurino and Marco Picci and this report will also state the justifications for the choice of the said artists and the potential limitations that might be faced in ensuring that they are able to make that all important appearance during the event (Crowe et al, 2011). For the purposes of success of this event, the report must also look at the means of evaluating the event so that the objectives of the overall project are met (Allen, 2010). The first and important issue to begin with is the audience that the proposed event targets since art is about appreciation and for the success of the event will depend on the audience. Intended Audience The targeted audience will consists of all students in the department of fine arts, enrolled in other related Bachelor of Arts degrees and other students in the campus with interest in arts. They may come from any majors and it is important to note that this event will not discriminate on art lovers and hence will allow the attendance of local students from other institutions. The projected number in attendance during the event will range from 150 to 200 individuals with an allowance of rising above the higher limit. Art is an element of humanity that has promoted diversity and therefore fostered harmony and inclusiveness across all nations (Ladis, 2001). In recognition of this fact, the event will be based on fostering unity in the diverse nature of human race and therefore all individuals from the different social cross cuttings of race, gender and social status shall not be discriminated against. The idea of promoting diversity through inclusive attendance or in the target audience’s composition is to help explore and justify the fact that it is through art that ideas can be drawn to encourage peaceful co-existence among different people. This is because it acts as a common feature that draws their interests despite of their differences in the social-cultural dynamism of the society we live in today (Brown, 2009). Having identified the target audience of the proposed event and issues that might be attached to it, it is important to look at the components of the event that will help create a memorable experience and help the organizers achieve the targets of attendance and general project success. To begin, the design of the site in which the event will take place will be important as will be indicated in the section below. Site Design The site will be designed with a precision that will enhance the general objectives of the proposed event. It will take the finest art components that will be a collective effort of the fine arts students that have organized this event as well as the input of other interested parties. Since Italian art will take pre-eminence in the event’s exhibitions, the designs will be biased to great Italian concepts that will further set the mood and tone of the event. However, all these will be blended with the local concepts so that the issue of diversity is well taken care of in the site design. In general, the site of the proposed event will be at the campus’ arts exhibition hall and the adjacent open ground. The mentioned site shall be modified or set to capture four key elements of design that includes activity sections, routing, landmarks and sights and sounds of the exhibition itinerary. To begin, there will be various activities sections as proposed by this plan. There will be an information area whereby the audience will get to understand the background of Italian art history. Through this section, the audience will also appreciate the role of the selected guest artists and the path they have followed to achieve and succeed in the areas of their specialization. The information area will also act as an intermediary for all sections because there will be a reception desk to guide visitors to the rest of the areas. Next will be the exhibition section that will also be the major section of this event. The chosen exhibits will be the best picked from the two artist’s works. They will be showcased in the exhibition hall starting with the hallway. The other section will be the stage where there will be events and speeches on the theme and subject of the event from various artists as well as the invited Italian greats. The site will have well indicated and demarcated directions to clearly state the routes to and within the site of the proposed event. The paths will be well linked and will be able to contain a constant stream of visitors in and out of the site. The directions will be well labelled and to set an Italian mood, all the writings will be in both English and Italian language. The sign posts will also be designed in a more traditional way and will be made from locally available materials. To help in creating an attractive and easily recognizable site, this plan proposes the use of landmarks to help in achieving this. The exhibition hall in itself is a landmark in the campus. However, the plan is to improve on this by creating signs and banners around the site that will be easily seen by all and will remain the talk of campus during the event. The signs will use a colour effect so that the site remains pleasing and attractive to the eyes of the general campus population. Lastly, the site will be designed in a way that there will be adequate space for movements. There will be flexibility in the space and capacity capability of the site so that the event will be able to cope with pressures that may be experienced as a result of increased attendance or other emergencies (Tonge, 2010). Subsequently, a well designed site will mean that the event will be equally having a good organization and adopt various components of design so that it is considered successful. This will be discussed in the section that follows. The Event The location of any event is important for its success because attendance will ultimately be a subject of accessibility and environmental conformability. The proposed area as have been stated above therefore seems more suitable. It is centrally located and near the main road hence can be easily spotted and accessed by all students as well as visiting audiences. The organizers of this event are the fine arts student in BA majors at the university. The proposed dates shall be from the 17th to the 24th day of May 2013. The event’s set up will be based on the foundation of three key pillars that include people, environmental setting and organization. First, this event will need people through audiences targeted and the human resources that will take part in planning, organization, mobilization and arrangement of the venue and other sections. The event therefore will rely on how effective human resources will be as will be further outlined in other sections of this report. Second, the environmental setting of the various sections will create a culturally motivated atmosphere of learning, appreciation and diversity among the attending individuals. The setting of the event will therefore make the audience feel comfortable and it will be well planned to ensure that it elicits fond memories. Third, management and organization of the event will involve a lot of expertise and frequent consultations to ensure that the activities are smoothly carried out throughout the stated period. Management will ensure that all activities are properly co-ordinated and synchronized with the times that most people are likely to have a chance of attending. All the three pillars are meant to work in unison so that the main objectives of organizing the event are achieved. Pillars of the event Setting The chosen theme for the event shall be British and Italian arts communicates event. It helps people come to the recognition that arts play an important role in communication and historical events like the world war one and two are often depicted in artists’ impressions than in other forms of literature. The national colours of the two countries will be used and other blending colours integrated to create a sight that will be difficult to ignore and that will remain in the minds of individuals for long (Perry et al, 2004). To complement the theme will be two other components that are the program of activities and the consumables that will be available. The program of activities will be diversified to cater for different interests (Carpenter et al, 2008). There will be outdoor and indoor sporting events as wells as other interactive sessions to create an environment of physical as well as social development. This plan proposes that all equipment and materials used in the activities be customized to reflect the art works of the Italian and British fine arts students. Others will take the thematic colours as previously indicated. To create an attractive event, the activities will be opened by famous sports personalities and popular musicians provided they are easily available but popular among the students in the university. To attract larger audiences and create a fun filled event, the activities will attract some rewards for the participating groups. For instance, groups that will be in say a soccer team will compete for a trophy that will be designed and signed by the invited guests. To make the activities reflect the purpose of their existence, the teams shall adopt names of famous artists or artistical movements that were established in Europe in the early years. The last component of the event that will also be given a lot of concentration shall be the consumables that will be available. The main consumables shall be desert and soft drinks. To create a traditional outlook, the consumables will reflect a cultural heritage by the way they will be prepared and served. The ingredients will be from British and Italian backgrounds whereas the serving dishes or cups will be decorated using some of the famous artworks of Enrico Gaurino and Marco Picci. Legal Issues Any event organization must take care of the legal issues that may arise in the course of its organization and during its implementation (Nelson, 2005). It is for this reason that this report needs to point out the legal implications that may arise out of the proposed event and its activities. First, the event will involve the use of musical tunes that may be some form of nuisance to uninterested parties within the university. However, the event organizers will make sure that music is controlled at optimum pitch levels so that the event remains an exhibition event rather than a partying one. Secondly, there might be a challenge in the area of making sure that all the documents of the invited guests are processed in time. Lastly, since the event will be organized in close cooperation and coordination with the university authorities, the report does not predict a lot of legal implications on the part of the organizers. However, an area that will need special attention shall be that of safety and security of all participants and audiences during the event. Human Resources Human resources are important for the success of any project as well as event. Since the event is organized by art students and other interested parties, financial resources may be limited and therefore volunteering may be largely explored to fill this gap. There will be a clearly drawn structure of command and consultations shall be frequent for the success of every activity (Silvers, 2012). Financing Financing of any project is a determinant of how successful it may turn out to be (Damster et al, 2006). The proposed event will rely on three sources of financing that will include ticket sales, fundraising and corporate sponsorship. The event will charge an affordable fee to all in attendance with participating certificates issued at the end. The organizers will encourage advance booking that will attract discounts. Secondly, there will be fundraising in the university held by BA majors students to help add to the event finance pool. Lastly, the activities are likely to attract sponsorship from local corporate and therefore the organizing committee will pursue this line. The main expenses will be in facilitating the attendance of invited guests and setting up the various sections complete with promotional materials. By encouraging volunteering, these expenses will be minimized. The profit will be the amount that shall have remained after all expenditure on events is taken away from the proceeds of ticket sales and fundraising amounts. The following is a budget for the event. Table 1. Budget Income (£) Expenditure (£) Ticket sales 5000 Tent hire 75 Sponsorship 200 Administrative 150 Catering 150 Hospitality 1500 Fundraising 250 Total income 5600 Total costs 1725 Profit/(loss) 3875 Marketing Promotion of events is important for the enhancement of participation and attendance (Ferrell et al, 2008). Events with people turn out to be memorable and encourage a lot of interaction (Toole, 2010). The plan proposes that students of BA major take part in this effort by designing self made promotional brochures, flyers and other attractive designs in groups for creation of awareness for the event. Each group’s success will also depend on the amount they bring in terms of ticket sales. Table 3. Risks Risk factor Mitigation strategy Financial (Low ticket sales) Enhanced promotions Reduction of recurrent expenditure Environmental (Natural Calamity and other hazards) Proper disaster management Site design to cater for emergencies Legal Adherence to set guidelines Close association with campus authorities Event Schedule The event will be held for a week as mentioned earlier. The launch will be on 17th of May and the exhibition will be done on the other days except for the last day when the invited guests will present a key note speech for closing ceremony. Most sporting activities have been slotted for afternoons with indoor games done in morning hours. Following is a timetable for the planned event: Timetable: Date Activities Key performance indicators 15th Feb to 16th Mar 2013 Invitations, promotion of event, ticket sales, preparation of site and designs Over 80% advance ticket sales Confirmation of attendance of guests Site ready 2 weeks before launch 17th March, 2013 Project Launch, guests’ orientation Full capacity attendance 18th to 24th March, 2013 Exhibitions and presentations Full capacity in all sessions 25th March, 2013 Meeting of project committee - Event Evaluation The success of this event will depend on financial, social, structural as well as educational performance measures. The financial evaluation criteria will ensure that the profit obtained does not deviate to more than 30% from the budgeted one. Feedback from the university after and during the event will be taken seriously and therefore will be an important component of evaluation. Since this event is about learning, questionnaires shall be administered to all who attended to ascertain the learning opportunities they feel they were presented with. The organizing committee will draft a report to the members of the fine arts association indicating the areas of performance and others that will need future improvement. Conclusion The proposed project recognizes the need for fine arts students to appreciate and embrace intercultural diversity since it is through this that they will be able to produce internationally acclaimed pieces (Clark et al, 2004). With globalization taking a tall on the art sector, it is importance that events like the one proposed by this report be constantly held (Zimmerman, 2009). Italian art and the various artists behind them have been a great source of inspiration to students and therefore this event will be a celebration and appreciation of that fact. Bibliography Allen, J., 2010. The Business of Event Planning. New York: John Wiley and Sons publishing Brown, R., 2009. Art in the Age of Steam. Technology and Culture, 50, (2), p. 418-425. Carpenter, G and Blandy, D., 2008. Arts and Cultural Programming: A Leisure Perspective. Human Kinetics Clark, G and Zimmerman, E., 2004. Teaching Talented Art Students: Principles and Practice. London: Teacher’s College Press Crowe, J and Cavalcaselle,G., 2011. Early Italian Art. London: Parkstone International Publishers. Damster, G and Tassiopoulos, D., 2006. Event Management: A Professional and Developmental Approach. Cambridge: Juta and Company Ltd Ferrell, O and Hartline, M., 2008. Marketing Strategy. London: Cengage Learning Ladis, A., 2001. Studies in Italian Art. New York: Pindar Press Mack, C., 2000. The Aesthetics of Italian Renaissance Art: A Reconsideration of Style. Renaissance Quarterly, issue, 53. No.2 p 569-571. Nelson, E., 2005. Legal and Ethical Issues in ART "Outcomes" Research. Health Law Journal, issue13,(1), p.165-86. Perry, G and Wood, P., 2004. Themes in Contemporary Art. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. Silvers, J., 2012. Professional Event Coordination. New York: John Wiley and Sons publishing Tonge, R., 2010. How To Organize Special Events & Festivals. London: Gull Publishing Toole, W., 2010. Events Feasibility and Development. London: Routledge publishers Zimmerman, E., 2009. Reconceptualizing the Role of Creativity in Art Education Theory and Practice. Studies in Art Education, Issue 50, No. 4. p382-399. Read More