Thank you for visiting the 6e Updates web page. The latest update contains 23 pages of new resources for Management and the Arts 6e. Updates include reports on dance companies, audience attendance and participation, and racial and gender diversity in the arts. Links to dozens of news stories about arts management have been added, as have deeper dives into scholarly journals and info on several new books. I hope students, faculty, and practitioners will find these new resources timely and valuable.
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SIXTH EDITION ERRATUM
In the Acknowledgements, page xxvi, the name Joshua Stavros was misspelled.
Chapter 9 – Page 378, Balance Sheet, the abbreviation should be NA (Net Assets), not NE.
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Chapter 1 – Arts Management Overview
How Art Works, Benefits, and Systems
Pages 4 to 8 introduced key concepts such as How Art Works and the Benefits of the Arts. Here are some additional recent resources on these topics. First, a graphic showing the NEA is focusing its priority research. Americans for the Arts publishes an arts impact report that I think you will find valuable Lastly, you can go deeper into the topic of the benefits of the arts through two journal articles.
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National Endowment for the Arts – Priority Research Topics
Here’s a link to a one-page summary of the NEA's focus as it continues to explore the concepts related to Fig. 1.1 on page 5 of the sixth edition. Their top four areas of concern are impact, healing communities, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, and the adaptability of the U.S. Arts ecosystem.
https://www.arts.gov/sites/default/files/NEA-priority-research-topics-infographic-12.10.21.pdf
Benefits of the Arts Revisited
Fig. 1.2 on page 7 shows the benefits of the arts as Alan Brown envisioned them in 2006. When studying this diagram, it is important to remember that the overarching social systems that contribute to creating a society's culture constantly evolve. Therefore, it would be wise to take a step back and consider the bigger picture regarding how people engage with all kinds of art. Here are three ways to delve deeper into topics related to what is and its impact. First is the arts impact explorer. Next is a journal article that explores the philosophy and psychology of art. Lastly, there is an article that focuses on the social importance of art appreciation.
Americans for the Arts – Arts Impact Explorer
Here is a link to a short video (1:44) about the Arts Impact Explorer AFTA created. https://ww2.americansforthearts.org/explorer
And here’s the Arts + Social Impact Explorer Fact Sheet
Interested in going deeper into how art works?
Here are two journal articles that offer different perspectives on how art works and the value of art. The first was published in June 2019 in the Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society (Vol. 163, No. 2), which explores the relationship between art, philosophy, and psychology. This article could be a centerpiece for a class discussion on "What is art?" If you aspire to be an arts manager, having some insights on this topic would be of value.
The next journal article, from Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (August 2017, Vol. 11, Article 411), explores the topic of art appreciation in a very accessible way and calls for "a systematic neuroscientific study of art appreciation [that] must move beyond understanding aesthetics alone and toward investigating the social importance of art appreciation."
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NEW BOOK
Justin O’Connor’s important new book, Culture is Not and Industry – Reclaiming art and culture for the common good, is well worth your time and will make for interesting class discussions. He notes in the introduction to the book that “culture, as an object of public policy, should be moved out of “industry” and back into the sphere of public responsibility alongside health, education, social welfare, and basic infrastructure.” (p. 1)
Here is an overview of the book provided by the publisher.
Culture is at the heart of what it means to be human. But twenty-five years ago, the British government rebranded art and culture as 'creative industries', valued for their economic contribution, and set out to launch the UK as the creative workshop of a globalised world.
Where does that leave art and culture now? Facing exhausted workers and a lack of funding and vision, culture finds itself in the grip of accountancy firms, creativity gurus and Ted Talkers. At a time of sweeping geo-political turmoil, culture has been de-politicised, its radical energies reduced to factors of industrial production. This book is about what happens when an essential part of our democratic citizenship, fundamental to our human rights, is reduced to an industry.
Link to book (also available on Amazon and other book order websites)
https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526171269/culture-is-not-an-industry/
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JOURNAL ARTICLE
Here's another perspective on cultural value in which the author argues for the "need to re-think the place of arts and humanities research in informing policymaking, and in cultural policy in particular" (p. 2). Also, see the updates in Chapter 3 for more information on cultural policy.
Cultural value as meaning-making
Patrycja Kaszynska, CULTURAL TRENDS, Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
OPEN ACCESS https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2024.2381767
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MORE Justin O'Connor . . . .
YouTube: Culture Is Not An Industry – a seminar by author Justin O’Connor
May 6, 2024, University of South Australia, 1 hour and 10 minutes
In March-April 2024, author Justin O’Connor launched his book Culture Is Not An Industry in a series of talks across the UK and northern Europe. As Professor of Cultural Economy at the University of South Australia (UniSA), he presented a lecture on the book to UniSA students and lecturers just prior to his booked-out Adelaide launch.
Link to YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtmaDJ-aDE8
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JOURNAL ARTICLE BY JUSTIN O’CONNOR
POLICY REVIEW - Cultural Trends, Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group - OPEN ACCESS https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2024.2383671
Creating growth: labour’s plan for the arts, culture and creative industries
Justin O’Connor, Cultural Economy, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
The Labour Party’s plan came out in March, before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the election, but even then it was clear they were set to win. There’s no need for me to rehearse the cruelty and ineptitude of the incumbent Conservative government, only to remark on the muted enthusiasm for its likely replacement.
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Chapter 2 - Arts Managers and the Practice of Arts Management
Chapter 2 contains a profile of arts managers (pp.44-49). Here are resources that provide insights about dance companies and a journal article using Henry Mintzberg’s perspectives on what it is like to be in the management trenches.
Dance Data Project
Global Leadership Project – June 2024
This is Dance Data Project (DDP)’s third report analyzing the gender distribution of leadership at ballet companies and classically based companies around the globe. Included in this report are U.S. and global companies that have roots in classical ballet and are professional performing companies.
Key Finding:
Globally, 70% of heads of schools, 48% of executive directors, 48% of assistant/associate artistic directors, and 29% of artistic directors of second companies are women. These metrics have changed slightly since the 2023 report, where women occupied 71% of head of school positions globally, 52% of executive director positions, 57% of assistant directors, and 24% of artistic directors of second companies were women.
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RESEARCH ARTICLE [Deeper Dive]
Mapping out the Roles of Top Management in Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations*
By Leticia Labaronne and Andrea Müller
The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, Vol. 54, 2024 Issue1, 1-16
Open Access DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10632921.2023.2285476
Abstract
This study explores how top management (executive and artistic directors) in nonprofit arts and cultural organizations understand and perform their roles on a day-to-day basis. We draw on Henry Mintzberg’s seminal work on managerial behavior to map out the roles that today’s leaders of arts and cultural organizations assume. Our findings suggest that they are primarily involved in roles concerning interpersonal exchanges and decision-making. In addition to Mintzberg’s roles, our qualitative study also reveals the presence of self-management activities in the sense of dealing with stress and critically reflecting on personal resources. We conceptualize these emerging roles in a new category of “intrapersonal roles,” which extends the range of Mintzberg’s managerial roles and thematize the implications for the literature and arts management professional practice, such as how top managers can be positive role models for other employees.
*This article is also a resource for Chapter 7 – Leading in the Arts
Chapter 3 - Adaptive Arts Organizations
This chapter covers various topics related to how arts and cultural organizations evolve, function, and adapt in various open systems in a society. It also demonstrates how external environments and diverse information sources help shape organizational structure and decision-making. Here are several updated resources about trends and cultural policy to help make this chapter more current.
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REPORT
TrendsWatch Report 2024
The American Alliance of Museums’ Center for the Future of Museums (CFM)
By Elizabeth Merritt
The theme of this year’s TrendsWatch report is volatility—strategic foresight parlance for
the speed of change. That speed has been increasing exponentially in recent decades. [Another] underlying theme of this report: the need to reexamine and reinvent a lot of systems that shape our lives, systems that may have worked more or less well for a couple hundred years but now teeter on the edge of failure.
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RESOURCES ON CULTURAL POLICY
The political and legal environments discussed on pages 77 to 81 mention U.S. cultural policy, but the chapter does not delve into the topic in any depth. Never fear, there are many resources available on this topic. Here are a few. Carole Rosenstein’s recently published 2nd edition of Understanding Cultural Policy is an excellent resource for how things work in the US. In addition, a recent open-access article in The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society discusses cultural democracy and cultural equity.
NEW BOOK EDITION
Understanding Cultural Policy - Government and the Arts and Culture in the United States, 2nd edition
By Carole Rosenstein, Routledge, New York, NY 2024
From the publisher
This textbook introduces cultural policy in the US, enabling both students and practitioners to understand how government impacts the arts and culture.
Starting with a historical overview of why and how the US developed a national cultural policy, the book traces the contemporary system of national, state, and local arts and cultural agencies through which that policy is put into practice. Readers are provided both in-depth frameworks for conceptualizing how government regulation and provision shape the arts and culture and carefully illustrated examples of cultural policy in action. Covering critical issues in US cultural policy such as the Culture Wars, culture-led development and gentrification, and field-wide data and research capacities, the book builds a bridge between theory, practice, and politics in the arts and culture. This new edition includes enhanced visualizations and policy maps, expanded policy labs, and a new section on cultural policy during COVID-19.
The result is a text that is essential reading for students and reflective practitioners of arts and cultural management and administration.
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JOURNAL ARTICLE
Cultural Democracy, Cultural Equity, and Cultural Policy: Perspectives from the UK and USA
Eleonora Belfiore, Steven Hadley, Brea M. Heidelberg &Carole Rosenstein
The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 2023, Vol. 53, No. 3, 157-168
Open Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/10632921.2023.2223537 v
Abstract
This article offers an exploratory discussion of two cultural policy concepts and traditions: cultural democracy in the UK and cultural equity in the US. We explore what the concepts share, how they have been shaped by their cultural policy traditions, and how they yield value for cultural policy makers, scholars, and activists. As scholars from divergent yet mutually Anglo-centric traditions, we articulate how these concepts inform one another with a view to enacting a more democratic form of cultural policy. Though the terms are used imprecisely or interchangeably, differences between concepts speak to the intersectional character of cultural inequality.
MORE RESOURCES ON CULTURAL POLICY
If you are interested in exploring the many topics associated with cultural policy, here are three websites, two journals, and four books to help you on your journey of cultural policy enlightenment.
Website: Compendium of Cultural Policies & Trends
The Compendium targets a broad audience of policymakers and administrators, arts institutions and networks, researchers and documentation professionals, journalists, and students. The information and data presented online help to inform decision-making processes, conduct comparative policy research and analyses, maintain data collections, and disseminate good practice examples.
https://www.culturalpolicies.net/
Website: The Center for Arts and Culture
The Center for Arts and Culture aims to inform and improve policy decisions that affect cultural life. The guiding principles of the mission include freedom of imagination, inquiry and expression, as well as freedom of opportunity for all to participate in a vital and diverse culture.
Founded in Washington, DC, the Center is a non-partisan organization, supported by foundations and individuals and governed by a board of directors. The Center commissions research, holds public roundtables, and publishes new voices and perspectives on the arts and culture.
https://culturalpolicy.org/articles
Website: Strategic framework for the EU's cultural policy
https://culture.ec.europa.eu/policies/strategic-framework-for-the-eus-cultural-policy
Scholarly Journals on Cultural Policy:
Journal of Cultural Management and Cultural Policy
International Journal of Cultural Policy
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Other Recent Books on Cultural Policy
Acting on Cultural Policy - Arts Practitioners, Policy-Making and Civil Society
By Jane Woddis, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY 2022
From the publisher: This book investigates the role of arts practitioners in cultural policymaking, challenging the perception that arts practitioners have little or no involvement in policy and seeking to discover the extent and form of their engagement.
LINK: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-11162-4
The Routledge Handbook of Global Cultural Policy
Edited by Victoria Durrer, Toby Miller, Dave O'Brien, Routledge, New York, NY 2018
From the publisher: The book explores how cultural policy has become a global phenomenon. It brings together a diverse range of researchers whose work reveals how cultural policy expresses and realizes common global concerns, dominant narratives, and geopolitical economic and social inequalities. The sections of the book address cultural policy’s relation to core academic disciplines and core questions, of regulations, rights, development, practice, and global issues. With a cross-section of country-by-country case studies, this comprehensive volume is a map for academics and students seeking to become more globally orientated-cultural policy scholars.
LINK: https://www.routledge.com/The-Routledge-Handbook-of-Global-Cultural-Policy/Durrer-Miller-OBrien/p/book/9780367244163?
Public Culture, Cultural Identity, Cultural Policy - Comparative Perspectives
By Kevin V. Mulcahy, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY 2017
From the publisher: Mulcahy contextualizes a wide variety of cultural policies and their relation to politics and identity by asking a basic question: who gets their heritage valorized and by whom is this done? The fundamental assumption is that culture is at the heart of public policy as it defines national identity and personal value.
LINK: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/978-1-137-43543-9
Arts Management and Cultural Policy Research
By Jonathan Paquette and Eleonora Redaelli, Palgrave Macmillan, New York, NY 2015
From the publisher: This book aims to present concepts, knowledge and institutional settings of arts management and cultural policy research. It offers a representation of arts management and cultural policy research as a field, or a complex assemblage of people, concepts, institutions, and ideas.
LINK: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137460929
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NEW BOOK - LEGAL ISSUES IN THE ARTS
Most books covering legal issues in the nonprofit sector seldom mention arts organizations and their unique business elements. This new book is an invaluable resource for arts managers and board members, and it’s truly a practical guide.
Legal Issues for Arts Organizations - A Practical Guide
By Kristi W. Arth, Routledge, New York, NY 2024
Legal issues touch every aspect of organizations in the creative and cultural sectors. This book teaches non-lawyers, arts administration professionals, and students how to identify and manage legal issues that are common to arts organizations.
From the publisher: “Legal Issues for Arts Organizations” demystifies common legal problems and helps readers approach them proactively. With an easy-to-remember “issue-spotting” process, the book helps develop the average administrator’s “eye” for legal issues so that the administrator knows when to do more research and when to seek out professional legal assistance. Written by a law professor and former intellectual property litigator with experience in arts policy and administration, this book provides a framework that arts professionals can use to navigate legal issues with increased confidence. It provides an overview of the American legal system, teaches a systematic process for identifying legal issues, trains administrators to read and understand contracts, gives practical advice for working with professional lawyers, and puts theory into practice with an applied learning component.
Packed with practical tips and advice, this book provides a primer that every arts administrator and every arts and nonprofit-management student will find immediately useful.
A book adoption includes teaching support materials available to instructors. To gain access, visit https://www.routledge.com/9780367771133
Link to book: https://www.routledge.com/Legal-Issues-for-Arts-Organizations-A-Practical-Guide/Arth/p/book/9780367771133
ALSO . . .
Here is a link to another book on legal and business issues mentioned in Update #3 to the 6e website (See Chapter 1, Winter 2023, Update #3). Here’s a link to information about Business Issues in the Arts, edited by Anthony Rhine and Jay Pension: https://managementandthearts.com/2023/01/01/6e-update-3-winter-2023/
Chapter 4 - Planning and the Arts
Here are links to examples of recent strategic plans by cultural organizations that demonstrate how the concepts in Chapter 4 are made operational.
First is a strategic plan created by the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Rhode Island, an artist-led space that has a vision focused on nurturing artists and shaping culture. The website is a good example of communicating a plan in an effective and organized way. You will also find planning resources for the Harn Museum and the Boston Lyric Opera below.
For other examples of planning documents, see Update #3 - Winter 2023, and Update #5 - Winter 2024. The Learning Resources for Chapter 4 also includes examples of planning documents you can study.
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Fine Arts Work Center, Strategic Plan 2023-2026, in Providence, Rhode Island
Link to plan: https://fawc.org/strategic-plan/
This organization has created a comprehensive and informative strategic plan to highlight the work of its collaborative planning process. The Fine Arts Work Center's website provides an overview of the plan and a link to a 40-page booklet detailing the organization's plan, vision, mission, goals, and objectives. The center worked with the Arts Consulting Group to assist in shaping the planning process.
As is the case with plans such as this, the detailed tactics, budgets, timelines, and operational implementation are not included in the presentation. Like many organizations, the planning web page does not include a section that provides an update on the Center's progress in fulfilling its plan.
The Harn Museum, University of Florida, 2020 – 2025 Strategic Plan
Link to plan: https://harn.ufl.edu/strategic-plan/
Harn’s mission and vision statement is framed by its connection to the UF students, faculty, staff, wider campus, and communities in central Florida. The museum also makes its plan available as a 22-page downloadable PDF. The Harn lists four goals and a number of strategies for each goal on their website and also provides links to its planning process. This museum also links its plan to a 20,000 sq. ft. building addition. Also missing on the website is information about its progress in realizing its planning goals.
Boston Lyric Opera Strategic Plan 2022-2026
Link to plan website: https://blo.org/strategic-plan/
The Boston Lyric Opera strategic plan webpage includes its new mission, vision, and values statement, as well as additional information about its programming and other areas that are part of its overall plan. They list “Key Priorities” within each focus area and articulate their goals and objectives. Unlike the Fine Arts Work Center and the Harn Museum, the opera includes an update on their progress.
Chapter 6 - Staffing, Boards, and Volunteers
Here are three new resources that connect to the topics covered in this chapter. First is a report from the American Alliance of Museums that highlights the progress made by museums in meeting board diversity goals. Second is a new book that focuses on current and emerging trends in achieving workforce diversity. Lastly, I found a journal article that examines the gender pay gap in Canadian cultural organizations.
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Museum Board Leadership: A National Report
American Alliance of Museums, 2024
AAM Overview
The American Alliance of Museums is proud to present the findings of Museum Board Leadership 2024, a national report that serves as the second iteration of Museum Board Leadership 2017. This report is structured into three sections: The People, The Work, and The Finances. It highlights the critical strides museum boards have taken with diversity and inclusion in recent years, as well as the many challenges and opportunities to further equity in the highest ranks of museum leadership and improve overall efficacy. To help museum leaders and boards address these challenges, each section includes actionable findings and resources. Sections or pages may be extracted to share key findings and spur dialogue.
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NEW BOOK
Diversity in the Workforce - Current Issues and Emerging Trends, 3rd edition
Edited By Marilyn Y. Byrd, Chaunda L. Scott, Routledge, New York, NY 2024
Publisher Overview
This comprehensive, integrated teaching resource provides students with the tools and methodologies they need to effectively negotiate the multiple dynamics that emerge from difference and to appropriately respond to issues of marginalization and social injustice. Written from an American perspective, the book not only covers the traditional topics of race, gender, ethnicity, and social class but explores emerging trends around ‘-isms’ (racism, sexism).
Thoroughly revised and updated, this third edition includes new case studies and expanded coverage of topics such as social justice, microaggressions, and gender identities and expressions. End-of-chapter questions encourage students to engage in difficult conversations, and case studies stimulate students’ awareness of real-world issues that emerge from diversity, helping students to develop the broad range of skills they need to mediate or resolve diversity issues as future professionals.
This edition includes updated Instructor Resources such as PowerPoint slides, multiple-choice quizzes, and essay questions, as well as additional links, which can be found online.
Link to book: https://www.routledge.com/Diversity-in-the-Workforce-Current-Issues-and-Emerging-Trends/Byrd-Scott/p/book/9781032246185
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RESEARCH ARTICLE [Deeper Dive]
Gender Pay Gap in the Early-Stage Careers of Canadian Creative Workers
By Marilena Vecco, Miranda Campbell, Roberto Zanola, International Journal of Arts Management, VOLUME 26, NUMBER 3, SPRING 2024
Link to IJAM: https://gestiondesarts.hec.ca/en/ijam/
NOTE: This is NOT an Open Access article. However, you can check if your university has a subscription to this journal to access it.
Abstract
Despite the existence of a number of studies analyzing the gender pay gap in the job market as a whole, less is known about this issue in cultural and creative markets, in which the employment conditions lack stability, and many of the jobs are “hidden” because of part-time, unpaid, and/or portfolio work conditions. These characteristics are expected to be exacerbated in the early stages of careers so that, in this case, the gender pay gap might display specific singularities. This paper specifically investigates this issue by analyzing data from the “Young People Making a Living in the Creative Industries” research project, a survey conducted from April to September 2016 in Canada. The results confirm the existence of a gender pay gap but in a totally unexpected way.
Chapter 7 - Leading in the Arts
For this update, I found a new book that focuses on what arts leaders think about the problems their organizations face, and I found two recent journal articles that examine management and leadership in nonprofit organizations and theatre companies.
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NEW BOOK
Cultural Leadership in Practice - Beyond Arts Management and Cultural Policy
Edited By Steven Hadley, Routledge, NY, NY, 2024
Publisher Overview
What do cultural leaders really think about the problems they, and the arts and cultural sector, face?
This book brings global leaders in the cultural field into dialogue with academics and experts to offer profound insight and perspectives on the complex issues the cultural sector faces in a rapidly accelerating and destabilizing twenty-first century context.
The book engages directly with leaders in the arts and cultural sector, bridging the gap between academia, policy and practice. Each chapter sheds new light on national cultural policy contexts, offering different perspectives on arts subsidy, audiences, the cultural workforce, heritage, artform development, and how cultural leadership functions in a fast-changing local, national, and international context. Interviews are conducted by academics and experts with significant knowledge and understanding of the arts management and cultural policy field, who ask critical and probing questions. Featuring interviews with an impressively international range of senior figures from the cultural sector, from the Royal Opera House, BMW, Bloomberg, and Onassis Foundation, and covering countries including the UK, Germany, Chile, Singapore, Greece, USA, Serbia, and Ireland, the book gives a truly global overview of cultural leadership from leaders who are open to question, critique, and challenge. Each chapter offers a unique and fascinating insight into the mind of a leader in their field, with their experience ranging from huge participatory events featuring tens of thousands of people to the visual arts, opera, the Turner Prize, and the #blacklivesmatter movement.
This book will be essential reading for reflective cultural leaders around the world, as well as a useful resource for students and scholars involved with arts and cultural management and policy.
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RESEARCH ARTICLES [Deeper Dive]
Mapping out the Roles of Top Management in Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations*
By Leticia Labaronne and Andrea Müller, The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, Vol. 54, 2024 Issue1, 1-16 - Open Access DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10632921.2023.2285476
Abstract - This study explores how top management (executive and artistic directors) in nonprofit arts and cultural organizations understand and perform their roles on a day-to-day basis. We draw on Henry Mintzberg’s seminal work on managerial behavior to map out the roles that today’s leaders of arts and cultural organizations assume. Our findings suggest that they are primarily involved in roles concerning interpersonal exchanges and decision-making. In addition to Mintzberg’s roles, our qualitative study also reveals the presence of self-management activities in the sense of dealing with stress and critically reflecting on personal resources. We conceptualize these emerging roles in a new category of “intrapersonal roles,” which extends the range of Mintzberg’s managerial roles and thematize the implications for the literature and arts management professional practice, such as how top managers can be positive role models for other employees.
*This article was also listed in the updates to Chapter 2.
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Policy, Passion and Precarity: How Structural Frameworks Shape the Tenure of Artistic Directors in the Subsidized Theatre Sector
By Karen Hands, International Journal of Arts Management, VOLUME 26, NUMBER 2, WINTER 2024
Link: https://gestiondesarts.hec.ca/en/ijam/ v
NOTE: This is NOT an Open Access article. Check if your university has a subscription to this journal if you are interested in accessing it.
Abstract - This exploratory qualitative research utilizes historical policy and analyzes documents and primary interviews to explore the dynamics between policy-introduced structures and the artistic director’s tenure in the Australian subsidized theatre sector. The research probes the effect of tenure length on the sector and examines decision-making about career mobility and the role of the individual passion of the artistic director. Short-term or project-based work dominates employment opportunities in this sector, yet the full-time artistic director position presents an anomaly to typical work patterns and career pathways. Incumbents of this role have forged a career in this precarious environment to attain an elite artistic leadership position that forms part of a dual leadership model. This research offers insight into how arts policies shape artistic careers, specifically the career pathways of artistic directors, which may contribute to a deeper understanding of the role, the development of future arts policies, and supported artistic leadership pathways.
Chapter 8 - Economics and the Arts
Here are three resources to use in conjunction with Chapter 8. The first is a new book on the creative economy that explores, among various topics, gentrification, the role of place in shaping the creative economy, pay disparities, and the role of the arts in fostering community. There are also two journal articles that you should find interesting. One covers preference formation in live theater, and the other considers the demand for theater programming via electronic word of mouth (eWOM) generated via social media.
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NEW BOOK
The Creative Economy - Arts, Cultural Value and Society in Practice
By Amanda J. Ashley, Carolyn G. Loh, Matilda Rose Bubb, Shoshanah B.D. Goldberg-Miller, Routledge, NY, NY, 2024.
Publisher Overview - The book explores the multifaceted components that make up this complex field. Underlying this journey is the throughline of diversity, equity, and inclusion as watchwords of today’s global paradigm. Capital, gentrification, pay disparities, and the hegemonic confines of cultural production are a few of the key issues analyzed. Using case studies and stories of artists and creatives from the worlds of fashion, design, music, and the media arts, the book also delves into gastronomy, literature, architecture, and theatre—presenting a nuanced look at the ways in which the creative sector impacts the world today. Readers will benefit from features such as key takeaways, discussion questions, and activities throughout the chapters.
Students, scholars, policymakers, and the general public will find this a valuable resource. This book offers the reader a chance not only to understand the cultural and creative industries but also to internalize its elements and embrace the creative spirit that imbues the sector.
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RESEARCH ARTICLES [Deeper Dive]
Preference formation in demand for live theatre
By David Throsby, John R. Severn & Katya Petetskaya, Journal of Cultural Economics, Volume 48, pages 285–310, (2024)
Open Access (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-023-09487-6
Abstract - In economics, the concept of preferences is fundamental to the theory of choice. In many demand analyses, preferences are taken as given, although interesting questions can be asked about how they originate. In this paper, we consider the formation of preferences in demand for live theatre.
We propose a model where preferences are derived from certain identifiable types of experience gained from past attendances at live theatre productions, as well as from some characteristics of consumers, including their theatre-related human capital and their habitual behavior patterns in attending a performance. We hypothesize that the preferences formed through these processes determine conditional demand for future live theatre consumption. The model is estimated as a two-stage system using data from a recent survey of theatergoers.
The paper is interdisciplinary in its approach, drawing its modeling and methodologies from economics and its interpretation of results from the academic discipline of theatre studies.
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The impact of social media activities on theater demand
By Andrea Baldin, Trine Bille, Raghava Rao Mukkamala & Ravi Vatrapu, Journal of Cultural Economics, Volume 48, pages 199–220, (2024)
NOTE: This is NOT an Open Access article. Check if your university has a subscription to this journal to access it. (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-023-09480-z
Abstract - A well-known factor in the consumption of cultural goods is that demand is subject to the ‘nobody knows’ principle and, therefore, difficult to predict. Other sectors have successfully analyzed social media data to predict real-world outcomes; the cultural field has applied this type of data analysis in the context of movies. This paper is the first study to consider the impact of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) generated via social media in the context of performing arts. Compared to conventional word-of-mouth mechanisms, social media sites may further reduce the uncertainty caused by the ‘nobody knows’ principle by propagating an enormous amount of enduring and real-time information and opinions.
This paper aims to test the potentiality of social media in understanding theater demand by combining booking data for the period 2010–2016 from the sales system of the Royal Danish Theater with volumetric data extracted from the theater’s official Facebook Page. In particular, we take into account the different possible relationships between the feedback provided by social media (in terms of ‘likes’ and comments) and the purchase of tickets by consumers: (1) eWOM influences tickets sale; (2) no causal relationship between eWOM and tickets sale as both reflect unobserved characteristics of the theater production; (3) tickets sale influences eWOM activities; (4) ticket sale influences eWOM which in turn influences ticket sale and so on.
The results suggest that only the number of likes, rather than the Facebook comments, is related to the decision to purchase a ticket. In particular, there is a mutual interaction between the number of likes given to posts specifically dedicated to a given production and the number of tickets sold concerning that specific production: eWOM activity (in terms of “like”) influences the tickets sale, which in turn generates eWOM activity. With this study, we aim to show how social media data can constitute a new and effective tool for understanding theater demand.
Chapter 9 - Control: Operations, Budgeting, and Finance
Chapter 9 includes an example of a financial report of a hypothetical theatre company (pp. 364-386). The TCG Theatre Facts reports provide a look back on the fiscal state of nonprofit professional theatre in the U.S. The latest report offers insights into how these theatres are doing post-pandemic.
In addition, two new books were published this year focused on financial management strategies for arts organizations. There are many books on financial management for non-profits, but these new books provide examples and scenarios that address the unique issues faced by arts organizations. One of the two is targeted to the financial management needs of museums.
Lastly, the League of American Orchestras published an article in April 2024 featuring how orchestras are battling ticket scams. The article includes an example provided by Sara Billman of the University Musical Society at the U of Michigan. Sara was interviewed for the sixth edition and shared how technology was being deployed at UM. She was featured in Text Box 9.2 on pages 358-359.
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RECENT REPORTS
Theatre Facts 2022
Theatre Communications Group’s (TCG) annual report on the U.S. professional not-for-profit theatre field’s finances, attendance, performance details, and operations.
By Rebecca Roscoe, Jean Benoit-Bryan, Daniel Fonner, and Zannie Voss, SMU DataArts with Teresa Eyring, Rachel Hip-Flores, and Corinna Schulenberg, Theatre Communications Group
This [latest] report shares trends using data from TCG’s Fiscal Survey and SMU DataArts’ Cultural Data Profile (CDP) for the fiscal year that theatres completed anytime between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022. The report follows the audit structure recommended by the Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in its exploration of all income and expenses, which contain but are not limited to operating income and expenses as well as balance sheet figures.
Key Ratios - CUNA: Change in Unrestricted Net Assets (CUNA) – Subtract Unrestricted Income from the organization’s Total Expenses. Positive CUNA means there was a surplus income after paying all expenses. Working Capital Ratio: Total Unrestricted Net Assets minus Fixed Assets minus Unrestricted Long-Term Investments.
Highlights
2,006 Theatres in the U.S. Professional Not-for-Profit Theatre Field:
● Attracted more than 10 million audience members to 69,000 performances of 13,000 productions. More than six hundred thousand Americans subscribed to a theatre season.
● Added over $2.3 billion to the U.S. economy through direct payments for goods and services.
● Employed 82,000 artists, administrators, and technical production staff.
● Earned 33% of their income and attracted the remaining 67% through contributed support.
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NEW BOOKS
Financial Leadership for the Arts - Sustainable Strategies for Creative Organizations
By Cleopatra Charles and Margaret F. Sloan, University of North Carolina Press, Chappel Hill, NC 2024
Publisher’s Overview - This accessible, practical textbook will prepare leaders in the arts to make the best possible decisions for the financial sustainability of their organizations. Designed for individuals without formal training or previous on-the-job experience in nonprofit management or accounting, Financial Leadership for the Arts makes organizational finance simple and clear, freeing creative leaders to do their important work for communities. Governing board leaders, working professionals, and students alike will appreciate clear case studies, as well as the several chapters that examine contemporary challenges and their implications for present and future financial management, program management, and program evaluation.
Written by two experts in public affairs and nonprofit leadership with deep experience in teaching and fiscal management, this book provides guidance that will be immediately applicable to arts leaders' work, helping them continue to excel in their creative endeavors—and not only keep the house lights on, but thrive.
Link to book: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469678788/financial-leadership-for-the-arts/
Another book on budgeting and financial management to consider with a museum focus . . .
Beyond the Numbers – Budgeting for Museum Professionals
Kristine Zickuhr, Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 2022.
From the Publisher - While the book is about budgeting, it contains very few spreadsheets or dry templates. Instead, it focuses on larger issues such as your relationship to money, the dynamic ways budgets can serve museums, and how budgeting connects (and often doesn’t connect) to strategic planning. The writing style is easy and accessible, with a little humor along the way.
Link to book: https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538156407/Beyond-the-Numbers-Budgeting-for-Museum-Professionals
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NEWS ARTICLE
TECHNOLOGY IN THE ARTS
How Orchestras Are Battling Concert Ticket Scams
By Brian Wise, Symphony, April 2024
A growing number of misleading practices and outright scams are disrupting orchestras’ ticketing operations across the country, as online scalpers and bots sell tickets at grossly inflated prices. Some sell photocopied tickets to multiple buyers; others offer tickets that aren’t actually in their possession. As bad actors move in, orchestra marketers say they are increasingly concerned about customer relationships, such as the ability to combine emailed tickets with donation requests, parking information, and surveys. Alert to fraying audience trust, some administrators place their hopes in legal remedies and new ticketing technology.
Link: https://symphony.org/features/how-orchestras-are-battling-concert-ticket-scams/
Chapter 10 - Marketing and the Arts
NEW REPORT
In Search of the Magic Bullet
Results from the Building Audiences for Sustainability Initiative, by Francie Ostrower, Ph.D., University of Texas at Austin, 2023
Arts organizations found it is possible to engage both new and current audiences, but it takes time and might not happen on their desired terms.
The results of these audience-building activities, however, also raise questions about organizational change. One important issue for organizations to consider beforehand is whether they are seeking to engage with particular audiences, even if it involves changing their programming, or whether they are seeking audiences for what they already do. As discussed, organizations were repeatedly disappointed by crossover strategies, where new programming was intended as a gateway to traditional programming. However, developing new programming was embraced by organizations that found value in attracting new audiences even to separate programming or that felt that program di- versification strengthened their artistic mission, community engagement, and/or business approach (p. 30).
Other Wallace Foundation Reports on Audience Development
Building Audiences for Sustainability
Here’s a link to all five reports in this series that started in 2019.
https://wallacefoundation.org/report-series/building-audiences-sustainability
Chapter 11 - Fundraising and Development
Pages 452 to 454 focus on giving trends in the U.S. in 2020. The two graphs show contributions total of $471.44 billion in 2020. Here are some updates, plus a link to a helpful article about how to report fundraising events on the 990 tax form.
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Giving USA - 2024
The most recent Giving USA report and graphs were published in late June for the calendar year 2023. Here’s a quick summary of the overall results and insights about giving to arts, culture, and humanities.
Year in Review - In 2023, giving from individuals, bequests, foundations, and corporations reached an estimated $557.16 billion, growing 1.9 percent over 2022. The stock market and GDP buoyed total giving – both performed better than many economists initially expected in 2023. The new total represented a high in current dollars, but did not outpace the higher-than-average inflation rate of 4.1 percent. Nevertheless, total giving’s growth in 2023 may indicate positive signs in the nonpro# t sector: total giving remains above pre-pandemic levels, even when adjusted for inflation (p. 12).
Arts, Culture, and Humanities - In 2023, giving to arts, culture, and humanities organizations reached $25.26 billion—the highest level on record—even when adjusted for inflation. Museums fared well, but many performing arts organizations that received increased private and government support during the COVID-19 pandemic have not yet realized pre-pandemic levels of attendance and donor support (p 266).
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BLOG POST
Helpful Advice
Fundraising Events On Form 990
By: Eric Joseph Rubio, Published on ArtsHacker: May 21, 2024
If your nonprofit arts organization hosts any fundraising events (that raise more than $5,000), you will need to complete Schedule G, “Supplemental Information Regarding Fundraising or Gaming Activities,” with your annual Form 990. For reasons of tax law regarding deductibility of charitable donations that are beyond the scope of this article, the way we report the revenue, and expenses associated with galas and other fundraising events on Schedule G is somewhat misaligned with how we answer the question “How much money did we make on the annual gala” from a management perspective.
For the full article, to go: https://artshacker.com/fundraising-events-on-form-990/
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The next update of the sixth edition of Management and the Arts will be posted in early 2025.
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