{"id":92474,"date":"2025-04-22T12:51:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-22T16:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/?page_id=92474"},"modified":"2026-04-09T14:43:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T18:43:43","slug":"qa-matthew-dickey-met13","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/programs\/arts-cultural-management\/stories\/qa-matthew-dickey-met13\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Matthew Dickey (MET\u201913)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Arts & Cultural Management Programs<\/a>More Student Stories<\/a><\/div>\"HeadshotMatthew Dickey (MET\u201913)
\nDevelopment Intern, 826 Boston; Intern, Artists for Humanity<\/strong>
\nMS, Arts Administration<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This interview was originally published in Summer 2017. Matthew has since accepted the position of Deputy Director for the Boston Preservation Alliance.<\/em><\/p>\n

How did the Arts Administration program help you explore your career options and get to where you are today?<\/strong>
\nThe program gave me a sense of the career paths that are available. I never knew about the rules of fundraising, development, and marketing within a non-profit organization. My network of BU classmates was important as well. The program helped me network within the community, as you have to interview different arts organizations. Learning about and getting involved with these organizations led me to where I am now.<\/p>\n

How did you get started in the field?<\/strong>
\nMy first job in Boston was working at a coffee shop, which to this day is still my best networking position because I met people from many different fields. [At the time], I was doing a paper on youth arts organizations and their impact on the communities they serve, and saw a TED talk by Dave Eggers [the founder of 826 Boston]. Through that talk, I learned that they had a Boston branch called the Greater Boston Bigfoot Research Institute. I started volunteering there and eventually got hired as the Development Intern. The organization is a must-visit for anyone in the program looking for creative solutions to education and disparity.<\/p>\n

You currently work as the Director of Development at Gore Place and also as a part-time Museum Guide for Historic New England. Can you tell us about more about your current positions?<\/strong>
\nGore Place is a historical estate based in Waltham with a house built in 1806. My role there is working towards building fundraising practices, especially with annual fundgiving, which is our biggest focus at the moment. We do that through a series of signature events \u2013 it\u2019s all about getting to meet the individual [donor].<\/p>\n

At Historic New England, I\u2019m a part-time guide doing walking tours of Beacon Hill during the summer. I started the job while I was at BU and loved it, so I continued working there.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve also worked with other arts organizations, such as Raw Art Works and Artists for Humanity. How did this work experience help shape your career?<\/strong>
\nBefore moving to Boston, I did a lot of work teaching art to kids, and I really wanted to get more into the arts sphere. I started with volunteering at 826 Boston, a tutoring and writing center. At Artists for Humanity, I did events planning and fundraising as an intern. I was also a math tutor, so I created a curriculum combining math and the arts. When I first graduated from BU, I ended up working at United South End Settlements, a community center in the South End. Through them, I found the job at Raw Art Works, a nonprofit that does art therapy, as the Development and Events Manager.<\/p>\n

According to you, what does an organization look for in an arts administrator?<\/strong>
\nIn general, it\u2019s your people skills. That\u2019s probably the biggest thing. No matter what you\u2019re doing, you\u2019re going to need skills to be able to speak in front of people and show that you can be a connector of individuals. But it changes depending on what field you\u2019re going into, because arts administrators can go into many different fields.<\/p>\n

Please tell us about a recent accomplishment that\u2019s meaningful to you.<\/strong>
\nThese past couple of months, I\u2019ve had three art shows, so that\u2019s been pretty cool. I had shows in Boston and Waltham. I\u2019m a painter, photographer, and Instagrammer on the side. Getting back into art-making and showing has been a really great recent accomplishment. I have been a painter for a while \u2013 that\u2019s what I went to school for \u2013 so it\u2019s always been about painting and architecture for me.<\/p>\n

Have you experienced any setbacks in your career? What did you learn from them?<\/strong>
\nWhen I first graduated (as an undergrad), it was 2008 \u2013 an awful time to graduate. I found a position at the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, through which I was assigned to work at a studio and gallery in New York City. The organization lost funding three days before I was supposed to show up. I was in a scramble; that\u2019s how I ended up with a job teaching refugees in Boise, Idaho. I also met my wife in Idaho, so it was a good change!<\/p>\n

[Another setback I experienced] was at Raw Art Works, where they restructured the organization and I wasn\u2019t included in the new structure. I lost that job, but it was awesome because I got to travel and get to where I am now.<\/p>\n

These kinds of setbacks always happen, but you can\u2019t let them define who you are. When you have a hiccup, you can take what you have and make it something you need.<\/p>\n

Do you see any major challenges or issues in today\u2019s arts industry?<\/strong>
\nThe field of arts administration is huge. You can see that through my own career path working in a community center, youth arts organizations, and tourism. The nonprofit and museum sector has its struggles, especially with gender equity and the salary gap between men and women. I helped with a paper on this topic which was featured on the American Alliance of Museums page. It\u2019s a complex topic as non-profit employees are constantly having to argue for their worth.<\/p>\n

How do you stay up to date with news in the arts industry?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m a social person; the way I like to stay in touch is meeting people. There are lots of Facebook groups and blogs to stay updated on what\u2019s happening in the Boston arts scene. A great local one is Flux Boston<\/a>. Drinking About Museums<\/a> and Nonprofit With Balls<\/a> are great groups as well. I like to follow the organizations I work with, like Historic New England. I also keep up with what\u2019s going on in the preservation movement, which is a whole other field in arts administration. I also follow the American Institute of Architects, the New England Museum Association, and the American Alliance of Museums.<\/p>\n

Were there any classes in particular that you would recommend to current and prospective students?<\/strong>
\nI really liked Arts and the Community. I think it really showed how the arts have an impact on people and a place. Creative people \u2013 and people who can organize creative people \u2013 can make big change. I also loved Managing Visual Arts Organizations \u2013 the guest speakers and book recommendations were really good.<\/p>\n

Do you have any advice for current and prospective students?<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s always a constant search for what you want to be doing. Have an idea in mind, but try different things to see what you like. I did that at first by volunteering, and now I\u2019ve been trying it out professionally by working. When you\u2019re moving from job to job, trying things at a different scale is important as well. Continue to always build your network. People can say they\u2019re not great networkers or extroverts, but you can build a network even by being in a book club or being involved on Instagram. There\u2019s lots of ways to be a networker without making it feel like it\u2019s a job.<\/p>\n

Published April 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Matthew Dickey (MET\u201913) Development Intern, 826 Boston; Intern, Artists for Humanity MS, Arts Administration This interview was originally published in Summer 2017. Matthew has since accepted the position of Deputy Director for the Boston Preservation Alliance. How did the Arts Administration program help you explore your career options and get to where you are today? […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21777,"featured_media":0,"parent":89230,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/no-sidebars.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21777"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92474"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99092,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/92474\/revisions\/99092"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/89230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/met\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}