Introduction
Over the past centuries, people all over the world have used their talents and abilities to make art. Some utilized their artistic tendencies to follow a passion to create. Others leveraged their creative abilities to generate income for themselves and their families. Whatever the reason, thousands of different forms of art are created every day.
Evidence of art is everywhere—museums, arts, and crafts being sold in the streets by vendors, clothing designs, graffiti on the walls, advertising signs and billboards, music, theater and movie productions, and many more.
Art unleashes the creative spirit of people and is expressed in diverse forms. In profound ways, it adds to the beauty and glamour of the world in which we live.
For people who want to build on a career, lifestyle, or body of work within artistic industries, countless challenges emerge. The hard questions include: how can I generate a sustainable income stream from my creative work? Do I give emphasis on my artistic purpose or the marketability of my work? How can I effectively manage a business enterprise—personally or with agents or partners? How do I balance the demands of my artistry along with the demands of the business?
Artist entrepreneurs tend to differentiate their discipline from artisan endeavors and crafts—which are more commercial. Emphasis for artisans is frequently placed on design, efficiency, or efficacy focusing on the customer’s wants and needs rather than the artist’s creative pursuits, vision and voice.
It is often difficult to find a balance between one’s artistic integrity and the need be financially secure. It is not uncommon to hear the term “starving artist” to depict a person who pursues a passion for his or her craft without finding commercial success.
Fortunately, the term “starving artist” is being increasingly rejected through action as new enterprising frameworks develop the entrepreneurial mindset of emerging artists.
This book aims to encourage artists all over the world to understand the notion of arts entrepreneurship and hone their entrepreneurial abilities. With an assembled team of experts from disparate countries, this book provides ideas and fresh insights on how to converge artistic and entrepreneurial intent.
Understanding Arts Entrepreneurship
Originating from the French word “entreprendre” meaning “to undertake,” entrepreneurship has become a by-word to describe the process of operating an enterprise despite constraints relating to risk and uncertainty. It has been described in the context of “pursuit of opportunity beyond resources controlled” (Stevenson, Roberts, and Grousbeck 1989), driver of innovation and economic advancement (Schumpeter 1934), and associated with risk-propensity (Brockhaus 1980). Perhaps Babson College’s definition “a way of thinking and acting that is opportunity obsessed, holistic in approach, and leadership balanced,” is particularly viable for the artist entrepreneur. There is no exact formula for entrepreneurship, since it is anchored on uniqueness and individuality (Hoque 2014).
Entrepreneurship plays a key role in the arts (Henry 2007). Business acumen sets the foundation for financially successful art enterprises, but it is also grounded in quality, desirability, and the artist’s ability to connect with intent with meaning for the viewer, audience, listener, participant, and so on. Artists who have the ability to brand and market themselves well eventually develop a large and steady set of clients that make their ventures sustainable.
Artist entrepreneurs can be found in many business fields and disciplines. There is a diversity of options available for the artistically inclined. For instance, arts organizations can be found in the performing arts and museums and cultural industries such as those in film, music, and video games (Colbert 2007).
Arts enterprises have been in existence for centuries. Art can be traced to prehistoric times and have been evident in cave paintings. Craft firms have been noted as early as the Medieval period (Heslop 1997).
There are several attributes that characterizes art enterprises:
Anchored on individual artistry—ventures anchored on the arts, typically has one or more individuals who leverage their artistic talents and abilities. Personalization is a defining attribute of artistic firms (Svejenova, Planellas, and Vives 2010).
Grounded on integrity—arts enterprises often require high level of trust and sincerity. Reputation and trust are important considerations in artistic firms (Moulin 1967). For artists, maintaining their artistic integrity is an important part of their craft.
Diversity in forms, approaches and sizes—given the multitude of ways in which art can be created and sold, the practice of art entrepreneurship come in many shapes, forms and sizes. Jeffcutt, Pick, and Protherough (2000) observed that sizes of creative industries range from micro-level to ones that are trans-national.
Operationally complex—arts enterprises often need to deal with conflicting forces. For instance, should emphasis be placed on artistic integrity or commercial viability? On top of these challenges, a keen understanding of markets is not easy. This complexity transcends into the way artisan ventures and artistic ventures operate. Artisan ventures simply create products for customers, while artistic ventures offer a higher level of control over the outcome. Caves (2006) indicated that industries with creative flair tend to be characterized by: (1) uncertain demand, (2) require skilled inputs, (3) infinite variety, (4) vertically differentiated, and (5) durability.
Follows a growth and development trajectory—the skills of artists shift over time. Artists typically go through a period of apprenticeship to gain expertise in their craft (Caves 2006). In most cases, artists simply become better over time. Arts enterprises need to manage these changes and growth. The environment in which the artist lives in (i.e., economic, political, and social) influences their art and changes them while allowing them to also influence the world they live in.
Evolving by nature—as artistic preferences can evolve over time, arts ventures tend to be in flux and continue to change. Art created at a particular moment in time is not only a reflection of the artist but also a characterization of the era in which it takes place. Creative industries have evolved over the past 30 years (Healy 2002).
Global appeal—interest in arts enterprises transcend borders. The advent of technological advances and globalization has rapidly internationalized art. E-commerce has set the foundation for artists to sell their craft across multiple channels and internationally (Zwahlen 2010).
Challenges
Operating arts enterprises can be challenging. Typical barriers include: defining “arts entrepreneurship” compared to creative industries, artisanship, and so on. Artists need to also consider from where the inspiration flows. There is a need to compartmentalize commercial activities and artistic activities to achieve a degree of authenticity. Other challenges include:
Overlapping roles—Emerging artist entrepreneurs need to multitask specially in the start-up stages (Sachar 2011). Several tasks need to be completed and many entrepreneurs lose track of priorities.
Financial pressures—Like many microenterprises, arts enterprises need to generate income early in their development stage. Microenterprises in the craft industry need to carefully plan their marketing strategy (Kean, Niemeyer, and Miller 1996). The ability to attract customers and convert these customers into paying patrons is critical.
Changing consumer taste—Consumer preferences change over time. Keeping abreast with changes is important. Arts enterprises need to be cognizant of environmental changes taking place such as those that impact their audience, costs and revenues among others (Culbert et al. 1996).
Balancing creativity and profitability—Arts enterprises need to find the right spot that suits their creative drive while staying profitable. High emphasis on management can dampen an artists’ creativity (Hodsoll 1985).
Declining support—There is a lot of competition for donors and sponsors, clientele, audiences, grant opportunities, and so on. Economic challenges can also dampen enthusiasm in the arts and the philanthropic spirit. Cultural organizations have faced public funding cuts and intense sponsorship competition (Colbert 2007).
Research and resource limitations—Limited ability to gather the right information at the right time can pose difficulties. For instance, in arts enterprise internationalization, challenges include resource limitations, lack of information and access to business advise (Leeke 1994).
Finding suitable mentors—Mentors are essential in the craft industry (Becker 2006) and for artist entrepreneurs—many of whom do not have formal business training or networks on which to rely. Finding the right business coach and mentor is not always easy.
Opportunities
Arts enterprises offer a lot of potential for business success. These enterprises also can have an impact on local economies. Their roles and impact include:
Job creators—Thousands of jobs are created by arts enterprises. Creative industries are employment generators (Foord 2008). Sustainable self-employment is what many artists strive for. It allows for creative freedom in authentic ways over time. And artistic trends are to collaborate which generates work among networks of artists.
Economic growth—Arts enterprises stimulate economic activities. Creative industries are important economic foundations (Hartley 2005).
Stimulate innovation—the creative nature of arts enterprises sets the stage for innovative thinking. Creative industries sets the stage for innovation and development in regions (Bilton 2007).
Attract donors and investors—Art patrons abound worldwide. Arts enterprises have traditionally received significant support from philanthropists. There are diverse sources for funding for performing arts ranging from philanthropy (36 percent), government (6 percent), others (58 percent) (Mulcahy 1999).
Opportunity for internationalization—The global nature of arts enterprises opens doors for the pursuit of international initiatives and partnerships. There has been rising interest in selling crafts internationally (Knott 1994; Fillis 2000).
Given the growing importance of the topic and the opportunities it presents, the editors decided to pursue this book project and bring together thought leaders, experts and practitioners to share their views on arts and entrepreneurship.
Book Objectives and Organization
The editors hope this book project will serve as a guide book that will help artists from around the world navigate the complex world of business and uncover pathways to success. The book covers diverse topics that are intended to educate the reader in different aspects of arts entrepreneurship.
The intent of the book is to provide a blend of theoretical and practical knowledge on the subject. The editors hope that the book will be valuable to a broad range of art enthusiasts including students, academics, artists, entrepreneurs, executives, consultants, government leaders, and policy makers.
The book also takes on a highly international perspective. The editors believe that the practice of arts entrepreneurship takes place all over the world. Viewpoints of experts from several international locations are woven into the book.
The book is organized in five sections. Section 1 is Introduction (J. Mark Munoz and Julienne W. Shields). Section 2 pertains to Understanding Arts Entrepreneurship and includes the following chapters The value(s) of arts business (Per Darmer, Joobin Ordoobody and Alireza Saify), We are not a commercial firm (Deirdre McQuillan), and Creating value in the performing arts industries: A process for arts entrepreneurs (Sara Theis and Mark C. Samples). Section 3 is Arts Culture, Values and Internationalization with chapters including Cultural embeddedness in the arts (Deirdre Mcquillan), Art entrepreneurship and internationalization at home: Internationalization strategies of theaters from a Central European country (Pareskevi Karageorgu and Andreja Jaklic). Section 4 pertains to Pathways to Growth and Success and includes Exploring the emergence of contemporary art galleries in Istanbul: The effectuation perspective ( Aytug Sozuer), ARTrepreneurship: Shifting to a business mindset in a creative world (Sonia BasSheva Mañjon and Melissa Crum), Development of performance-based class projects in the arts (Larry Stapleton and J. Mark Munoz), The entrepreneurial development of self-employed artists (Robert Moussetis), and Strategic thinking in arts entrepreneurship (Todd Stuart). Section 5 is the Conclusion ( J. Mark Munoz and Julienne W. Shields).
With a growingly complex global business world, with rigorous demands on time and talent, the editors hope that this book provides the foundation for the future success of artist entrepreneurs. There is much room to further theoretical and practical knowledge on the topic of arts entrepreneurship. Success in arts entrepreneurship can enrich lives, stimulate economies, and add truth, beauty and glamor to the world.
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