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Kate Dumbleton

Associate Professor, Graduate Director

Contact

Bio

Associate Professor, Arts Administration and policy. BA, 1989, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY; MA, 2008, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Concurrent Positions: Artistic and Executive Director, Hyde Park Jazz Festival. Productions: Rovate '04, Mirror Ball '05, Glass Head '06; Fixtures and Fissures '09, Hyde Park Jazz Festival 2012-Present; Recordings: The Sophisticate, Port Chicago, Harriet Tubman. Music Curator/Consultant: Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco; Cafe Royale, San Francisco; Bruno's Jazz Club, San Francisco, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Chicago, Jazz Institute of Chicago, Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts, Chicago, UChicago Presents.

Experience at SAIC

I have been a part of the SAIC faculty since 2008, first as part-time faculty and now as an Associate Professor. I am also an alumna of the Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy program. It is impossible to overstate how much the SAIC community has meant to my life and work. SAIC is a fascinating environment in which to engage in critical questions about culture. It is a place for makers, thinkers, producers, organizers, designers, advocates, curators, creators, philanthropists, innovators... and on and on. SAIC embraces complexity and all its attributes. It is also a warm community that supports student learning with profound depth and commitment.

Personal Statement

My teaching philosophy is based on placing students at the crux of theory-practice. I try to create a learning environment in which students are continually and critically engaged with history, theory, and creative practice in the context of making things happen in real time. It is my hope that students in my classes are actively engaged in creating the future, not simply learning skills for the present. I want students to practice making change. This is what I hope the Management Studio does through a diverse set of experiences.

My own work for the last 20 years has been primarily in jazz and improvised music. In all of my work is a fundamental interest in how and why ideas, people, and systems organize; how to continually shape environments that support experimentation and creativity; and what it means to lead emergent systems. I am interested in the interplay between composition (or structure) and improvisation (emergence).

My current work aside from SAIC is as the Executive and Artistic Director of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival on the South Side of Chicago. The South Side has a rich history in jazz and improvised music, from Louis Armstrong to the black experimentalist movement of the AACM. The Festival is a fascinating evolving cultural model and a major production annually. In addition to this, I work closely with the individual artists to support their efforts to develop various aspects of their work.

Official Bio

Kate Dumbleton is an Associate Professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the MA program in Arts Administration and Policy and the Artistic and Executive Director of the Hyde Park Jazz Festival. She had been part-time faculty since 2008. Kate joined the Hyde Park Jazz Festival in fall 2012 from the position of Executive Director of the critically acclaimed Chicago Jazz Ensemble. Her work in jazz, improvised music, and performance spans more than two decades.

Kate's experience includes music direction for jazz clubs and festivals; curatorial direction of artistic residences; direction of interdisciplinary projects in music, dance, theater, visual art, film; venue and record label management; administrative direction; and artist management. She owned and operated a successful performance, exhibition space/wine bar in the Bay Area from 2000-2006. Kate serves on several nonprofit Boards, is a frequent participant in various public programming initiatives and plays a part on numerous curatorial teams in Chicago and beyond.

Current Interests

Collaboration and coalition building; commissioning and developing new work; advocating for individual artist support; urban planning and cultural programming; environmentalism sustainability/adaptation; systems theory; improvisation as methodology; black experimental music; design theory; cultural justice.

Courses

Title Department Catalog Term

Description

The Management Studio is a space in which to explore 21st century leadership and management though a practice based investigation of contemporary organizational, project, and leadership models with an eye toward designing frameworks for the future. In addition to investigating so-called traditional management models, students will engage with current cultural management/leadership theory and practice around sustainability, networks, leadership, collaboration, equity, engagement, and governance, as well as emergent models for supporting innovation, creativity, and adaptation. A distinguishing element of this course is the project-based learning environment. Management Studio integrates skill-building projects into the course work for the purpose of practicing and developing individual and group strategies. The projects in the studio are developed with external and internal partners and engage a broad set of skill building opportunities. Students select projects based on interest and personal development trajectories. The premise of this course is that participants will be active leaders in shaping the future of cultural/arts management. As such, the course invites broad and active participation and preparation for every class meeting. As a ?hands on? examination of management practice and theory, students are urged to critically engage with the material and to participate in class discussions, projects, presentations and debates. Each student will work on an ongoing project in addition to class preparation to include reading, discussion and presentation. Class will generally be divided into two sections. The first section will include discussion and/or presentations of readings and assignments. The second section will include project report outs and project work/discussion.

Class Number

1199

Credits

3

Description

The Management Studio is a space in which to explore 21st century management environments though a practice based investigation of contemporary organizational, project, and leadership models with an eye toward designing frameworks for the future. In addition to investigating so-called traditional management models, students will engage with current cultural management theory and practice around strategic planning, budgeting and capitalization, evaluation, communication strategy, digital communication, public relations, and fundraising (grant writing, individual donors, presentation skills). A distinguishing element of this course is the project-based learning environment. Management Studio integrates skill building projects into the course work for the purpose of practicing and developing individual and groups strategies and approaches to managing change/adaptation and cultural programming; supporting and engaging creativity; leading complex environments; building and understanding networks and connectivity; navigating teamwork, collaboration, self-organization, and problem-solving; and developing innovation practice skills. The projects in the studio are developed with external and internal partners and engage a broad set of skill building opportunities. Students select projects based on interest and a broad set of skill development opportunities. Management Studio II focuses on skills building in the areas of strategy and planning; resource development; working with artists; evaluation and data management; and communication strategy. In addition to team projects, there will be opportunities to cultivate individual concepts. The premise of this course is that participants will be active leaders in shaping the future of cultural/arts management. As such, the course invites broad and active participation and preparation for every class meeting. As a ?hands on? examination of management practice and theory, students are urged to critically engage with the material and to participate in class discussions, projects, presentations and debates. Each student will work on an ongoing project(s) in addition to class preparation to include reading, discussion and presentation. The willingness and ability to collaborate and continue to develop skills in team-based work is an essential element of this course and a core component of grading. Class will generally be divided into two sections or function as workshops. The first section will include workshops and discussions/presentations The second section will include project report outs and project work/discussion. Each project will be developed through the workshops as real time case studies.

Class Number

1077

Credits

3

Description

A master's thesis is required for completion of the master's degree in arts administration. The thesis should demonstrate a student's ability to design, justify, execute, evaluate, and present the results of original research or of a substantial project. In this class students work closely with an MAAAP program advisor, and meet frequently with other MAAAP participants in groups and in individual meetings. The thesis is presented, in both written and oral form, to a thesis committee for both initial and final approval. You must be a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and Policy student to enroll in this course.

Class Number

2514

Credits

3