Humber College has partnered with WorkInCulture to promote business in the creative sector. (Humber Photo Galleries)
Harmanjeet Singh Gurm
An expanding partnership between Humber College and non-profit organization WorkInCulture is providing opportunities for art and cultural studies students to develop their business skills.
WorkInCulture, whose website lists its mission as “to support the people who work in the cultural sector through life-long career development and entrepreneurial and business skills training” seeks to aid Humber students through its partnership with the college.
“Partnerships between educational institutions and professional industries are really a defining feature of a polytechnic institute or a college and Humber supports it very broadly,” said Andrew Scott, Associate Dean of the School of Creative and Performing Arts at Humber College.
“We have the programs that teach people how to do things within the arts, for example how to be an actor, a theatre production person, a musician, a creative writer and at the same time we have a mission to train students to do the business of all of those disciplines,” he said.
Scott said Humber’s Arts Administration and Cultural Management program trains students on meaningful interaction within the arts and culture sector. WorkInCulture helps Humber students do just that.
Steve Bellamy, Dean of Humber’s School of Creative and Performing Arts, said WorkInCulture and Humber share an interest in honing business skills and building the capacity of the creative sector.
“WorkInCulture has great connections to [the] industry and our school at Humber is very much committed to building business skills in the creative sector, as well as exploring how creativity and business processes can strengthen one another,” Bellamy said.
Scott said one of the opportunities Humber College obtained from WorkInCulture is the Creative Works Conference, a gathering of leaders from Canada’s creative community that was first held in 2017.
“It is the opportunity for people working in an arts and cultural sector, both professionals and students, to come and get some professional development training from experts within the sector of arts and cultural management,” he said.
“It (offers) professional development and training opportunities from some dynamic thought leaders and speakers, as well as having opportunities to meet other people within the sector with the goal of networking,” Scott said.