About Us

CAAAE is a national arts service organization founded in 1983 to support the work of educators teaching arts administration in Canada.

List of CAAAE’s Member Institutions

What is arts administration?

Arts administration (or arts management, cultural administration, theatre or gallery management, etc.) is a relatively young academic discipline. Its emergence in Canada came as a result of the growing professionalism of arts and culture organizations in the 1950s. It borrows tools and theoretical structures from many areas (including management and the social sciences) – and creates others specific to the discipline – and uses them in service of the arts. Subject areas include leadership, marketing and audience development, strategic planning, fundraising (revenue development), financial management, arts education, cultural policy, and more.

Arts administrators carry out the important work of ensuring that artists have the spaces and resources necessary to create, and build bridges between art, artists, and audiences.