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May 29, 2006 New Book by UNC's Artistic Entrepreneurship Professor Highlights the Spirit of Entrepreneurs Chapel Hill, N.C. — Dr. Elliot McGucken, who developed and taught an artistic entrepreneurship course at UNC this spring, is the author of a new book that discusses the spirit of entrepreneurs in the context of epic storytelling and the hero's journey. Whether you're an MBA, MFA, JD or DJ, the book is there to show you how the business of art and the art of business are united in the realm of higher ideals in epic storytelling, said McGucken, five-time author and adjunct professor of Physics and Programming. His new book is called The 45 Revolver — Epic Story & the Hero's Journey in Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology 10: Ideals Are Real. The book, to be released in July, was inspired by McGucken's pilot course at UNC, Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology 101. It includes topics discussed in class, including McGucken's experience running profitable Internet companies and his vision that an entrepreneur's ideas found through technology, law, business or art can lead to their passion, profession or vocation. The book, which unites art and entrepreneurship in a maverick way by treating entrepreneurs as hero storytellers, was shaped around Joseph Campbell's book, Hero with a Thousand Faces, said McGucken. This classic 12-stage journey includes a mythological hero or heroine, the call to adventure (an entrepreneurial vision), and the return to home (the exit strategy). Campbell's book influenced Hollywood films like Star Wars, Matrix and Lord of the Rings. McGucken hopes his new book can inspire blockbuster ventures. Using the hero's journey is a most efficient way to combine art, law, business, technology and entrepreneurship in the classroom, McGucken said. The book presents the journey of entrepreneurs in a classical context and their encounter with mentors, rescues, irony and survival in its epic form. The purpose is to inspire students to make the world a better place via artistic entrepreneurship. McGucken's class at UNC attracts students who are interested in the arts, entrepreneurial ventures and cutting-edge technologies. Everyone needs mentors to help guide you down whatever path you choose, McGucken said. For some people, a hero character from a book or movie can also be a mentor. http://www.kenaninstitute.unc.edu/centers/cei/?y=news.20060529&t=News http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/1958/103/ National Coverage Transforming Art Into a More Lucrative Career Choice The New York Times Some artists have begun to figure out ways to make money and make art — aiming to end the notion that “starving” and “artist” are necessarily _link_ed. ...Mr. Niles and Ms. Hellmuth have learned on their own what Elliot McGucken teaches in his course, Artist Entrepreneurs, which he developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a grant from the Kauffman Foundation. http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/1958/105/ News November 8, 2005 Students Line Up for New Artistic Entrepreneurship Course When UNC Professor Elliot McGucken put out the call to make your passion your profession with a pilot course for artistic entrepreneurs, students answered. More than 110 students applied for the new course, Artistic Entrepreneurship and Technology 101, scheduled for Spring 2006. The course, geared towards students with an interest in the intersection between the arts, entrepreneurial ventures and cutting- edge technology, was originally slated for 40 spots, but the overwhelming response triggered an increase in class size. Nearly 50 students are enrolled for the spring semester. Students from a range of creative disciplines — from painting to film production — will develop their artistic vision over the course of the semester. McGucken hopes the course will both inspire artists to pursue their creative passions and give them the practical tools necessary to launch and develop their ventures. Every artist is an entrepreneur, and every entrepreneur is an artist, explains McGucken. In addition to researching business structure and the ins and outs of building a sustainable venture in the arts, students will take inspiration from classical works like Aristotle's Poetics and contemporary entrepreneurs, artists and entertainers, like Steven Jobs, Richard Branson and 50 Cent. Central to the course are multidisciplinary teams, in which students will learn from each other and build creative networks. What we have is a foundation for a network of artistic entrepreneurs who are going to go out and build tomorrow's media companies, launch tomorrow's fashion brands and realize the renaissance that technological revolutions are affording, says McGucken. McGucken developed the course with a grant from the Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative's Innovations Fund, as part of a larger proposal to explore the creation of an academic track in artistic entrepreneurship. McGucken brings a wealth of experience to the new course, including extensive research on open source content management systems and digital rights management, and more than 10 years experience at the helm of the profitable Great Books portal www.jollyroger.com. http://www.kenaninstitute.unc.edu/centers/cei/?y=news.20051108&t=News  New Course Examines Opportunities in Artistic Entrepreneurship Chapel Hill, N.C. — UNC–Chapel Hill students can learn to transform their artistic passions into commercial and nonprofit ventures in a new course, Artistic Entrepreneurship & Technology, to be offered in Spring 2006. “UNC is thriving with talented, industrious students looking to make their passions their professions,” says Dr. Elliot McGucken, professor of physic and programming, who developed the pilot course with a grant from Carolina Entrepreneurial Initiative (CEI) Innovations Fund. CEI awarded the grant to the Communications Studies department to explore the creation of a track in artistic entrepreneurship, including Gucken's new course. “Recent technological advances make it easier than ever before. This class will invite writers, artists, directors, producers, musicians, business majors and computer programmers to work together in building artistic ventures. The business, law and technology of new media ventures will be covered, allowing motivated students to finish the class with a solid blueprint for an operating venture.” The new course is the among the latest new course offerings of the CEI, an $11 million effort funded in part by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to infuse entrepreneurship education across campus and help students, faculty and staff learn to launch successful ventures of all kinds. An explosion of technological advances provides unlimited opportunities for visionary artistic entrepreneurs in a wide range of areas, from video gaming to digital rights management, from arts production and arts management, McGucken says. UNC–Chapel Hill is well positioned for this new area of study. The Research Triangle Region hosts unique communities of artists and entrepreneurs. UNC attracts thousands of the best and brightest students from all over the world. The digital revolution is changing the way media is created, distributed and enjoyed. “Put it all together and you've got a rich environment for exploring new opportunities in artistic entrepreneurship,” he says. The new course will explore the work of such artistic entrepreneurs as Richard Branson, William Shakespeare, Madonna and Steven Jobs. Readings include Aristotle’s Poetics, Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces and Own Your Own Corporation. Guest lecturers include Bob Young, founder of Red Hat Linux, and Laurie Racine, president of the Center for the Public Domain and a founder of the annual Double Take Film Festival. McGucken received his Ph.D. in physics and has published four books, including two novels and a poetry collection. He has run the Great Books portal, www.jollyroger.com, since 1995. His dissertation on an artificial retina for the blind won a Merrill Lynch Innovations Award. He recently spoke at the Harvard Law School on Authena.org, a project for open source digital rights management. For more information, visit the course Web site at http://artsentrepreneurship.com. http://www.kenaninstitute.unc.edu/centers/cei/?y=news.20050815&t=News CEI Home | News | News Item News April 20, 2005 CEI Awards Grant to Explore Development of Artistic Entrepreneurship Initiative CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — UNC faculty will explore development of a concentration in artistic entrepreneurship thanks to a $38,000 program development grant from the CEI Innovations Fund. Dr. Elliot McGucken, professor of physics and programming, received the grant to lead development of a proposed new Artistic Entrepreneurship Initiative. He will work with Bill Balthrop, chair of the Communications Studies Department, and other faculty in the arts and humanities to develop a curriculum for students and faculty with interests in the arts, with particular focus on its intersection with technology. “The digital media revolution is fostering a natural convergence in the arts, entrepreneurship and technology,” says Dr. McGucken. “This convergence provides extraordinary opportunities for UNC students and faculty, from arts management, independent record labels and video game companies to media distribution, small presses and digital rights management.” The initiative envisions a new curriculum to help artistically inclined students from the humanities and sciences explore those opportunities and create sustainable social and commercial ventures from them. A pilot course, New Media Arts, Technology and Entrepreneurship 101, will be offered Spring 2006. Students will pursue independent, semester–long projects to build ventures that incorporate technology and the arts, such as media archives, production companies, record
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