Lissa Cramer (’18)

Lissa Cramer (she/her/hers) is a creative thinker that enjoys collaborating and building welcoming and inclusive environment. She earned her master’s degree in Arts Administration from Boston University in 2018. She currently works as the Director of the BU Art Galleries.

As the Director of the BU Art Galleries; how would you describe your job to somebody who’s unfamiliar with the art scene, especially for our prospective students whose experience may be elsewhere?

I will say I have the most fun job in Boston – I stand by that to this very day. The big picture of what my job is: is to bring outside voices, outside ideas and outside visual art from all across the world into our space for the BU Community. Anybody who walks through our doors is welcome to view the exhibitions we have up. On a day-to-day basis it’s hard to describe. I could be installing a show which is a lot of manual labor, I could be crawling on the floor or up on ladders adjusting lights. There are days where I dress up in heels and go to an artist tour or hold tours in the gallery. My day-to-day job is all over the place but it’s always super fun.

You’ve worked in the non-profit scene, commercial scene and academia. When it comes to your role as a director, do you feel like they’re that different?

There are difference and similarities. I would say all three areas need each other and it’s important they all support each other. All together we’re one community, but there’s definitely a difference in mission and how money goes in and out. For my role, I feel like I straddle the line between non-profit and academia. I do a lot of grant writing, and any individual who donates to us definitely gets a tax benefit. I don’t have the pressure of selling art work, but while the art is on view and is for sale, I’m more than happy to point a prospective buyer back to the artist’s commercial gallery. In the past year we have facilitated several sales. Although I’m not the one making the sale, I’m happy to be a part of progressing our artists’ career: giving them the spotlight they need here.

On the academia side we have students who are entering the art business. Whether it’s commercial or academia or nonprofit, it’s a business. Being able to teach these young student artists what it’s like to enter the real world (because it’s very different than being a student) allows me to be a conduit to give them a boost before they enter the real world.

In that same vein, what according to you is the biggest value of a university having an Art Gallery –or in BU’s case, multiple galleries?

No. 1 is accessibility. Here in Boston, you can’t walk more than 10 steps without hitting another university, and almost every university has its own gallery. But being here on campus, taking pride in the fact your university has a gallery, your university is bringing in these artists – and you only have to walk 5 steps instead of the 10. I think it helps us be competitive. We have a fantastic art school here – #1 in my heart and #6 in the nation. It’s making sure all of our student body, not just CFA, has the accessibility to attend an art gallery that’s free. Every university should have their own art gallery. In both our galleries our students will plop out and plug in and do some homework. The whole goal is that this is a safe spot for them that is accessible.

What are skills you feel like you picked up during your master’s program that hadn’t been developed before you entered that space?

I would say for me it was actually more of crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s. I was pretty lucky and I had a pretty prosperous career before I got my master’s, but I was just missing that last piece to move up any further. Going to the Arts Admin program I learned things I was able to take back to my job and implement. Specifically, things that were on the back end like writing contracts, even something as often unconsidered as labor laws. Getting that kind of knowledge wrapped up allows me to be a better employer and I can be a better advocate for our artists and my employees. Taking those courses definitely helped with that. I had quite a bit of help with the fundraising course. One course that really stood out to me was Political and Public Advocacy for the Arts taught by Dan Hunter and Jeff Terry. It was a small class, 6 students, but just talking about “how do you approach a politician,” and “how do you make real change?” Being in a higher position, I can make change! But if I didn’t have the tools to know how to do it, it just wouldn’t really go anywhere.

You have lots of visual arts students in your gallery and classes you’ve taught, and they do have the opportunity to take Arts Admin courses if there’s room in their schedule. Is there anything you recommend for them to take?

I tell all my students they should be taking Legal Issues in Arts Administration, 100%. We think of artists as being so lovely… look at your work – you’re so talented! When they leave us, they’re going to be CEOs of their own business. And the business is their art. They need to know how to act like a CEO. When they read a contract, they need to know what they’re signing, they need to know their own rights. Things like copyright seem so small but they really are a big deal. I’ve been very vocal about getting our students to take Legal Issues. There were so many good classes though, like Arts and the Community.

What advice would you give to students currently in the program who want to do what you do? They want to be director of an art gallery.

It’s simple and it’s so—I don’t know—I want to roll my eyes every time I say it. Don’t give up, don’t give up. You’re going to get a million rejects or maybe you’ll get the first thing you apply for, but if you don’t keep at it, you’re not going to get it. Sometimes along the way your idea is going to change of what you think you want. Gather around, make friends, definitely stay in the art community in some capacity if you can (I know that’s also hard to say, it’s a lot). Keep at it and something will definitely line up.

Learn more about BU’s Art Galleries and upcoming events at their website: www.bu.edu/art/.

Interview conducted by Sapphire Skye Toth