The "Fine Art" of Entrepreneurship at Denison

The fine arts and entrepreneurship have taken center stage in several initiatives this year at Denison University as part of the Burton D. Morgan Entrepreneurship Education Program.

Alumnus Tom Richner was the featured speaker in a cinema class, "Introduction to Animation," where he talked with students about his entrepreneurial experiences with his own start-up, Cap City Studio, a new animation studio in Columbus. His presentation addressed, not only the challenges and victories of launching an arts-related business, but also the role of arts entrepreneurship in economic development.

"Farmscapes," an environmental studies class that brings artistic perspectives to the topic of agrarian culture, added an entrepreneurial focus with the visit of Marcella Hackbardt, professor of art and photography at Kenyon College. She challenged students to explore linkages between intellectual and commercial art as well as essential business-related aspects of mounting a successful art exhibit and sale.

Studio art students have benefited this spring from the guest residency of Columbus art entrepreneur Adam Brouillette, who presented a series of workshops, class presentations, and public lectures. Under his direction, seniors in the Visual Arts Practicum are forming their own art collective this semester, a project that will culminate in a formal art event in Columbus.