Strategic management in the arts
Concordia University professor calls for strategic thinking and actions to bolster the artistic community
March 25, 2013
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From inspiration to creation, making art is far removed from conducting business. But when it comes to making a living from making art, business know-how becomes just as important as aesthetic intuition and artistic creation.
With federal arts budgets and external funding for the arts being slashed worldwide, artists are increasingly required to perform double duty, acting as both cultural interpreters and salespeople. Few are the individuals, however, who naturally boast both skill sets. That can be remedied with the help of a new book by Concordia University management professor Lidia Varbanova, which provides a roadmap for artists and arts organizations struggling to thrive.
“Strategic management is an essential element that drives an organization’s success, yet many cultural organizations have yet to apply strategic thinking and entrepreneurial actions within the management functions,” she explains.
The book is aimed at university professors, instructors, lecturers and students in strategy, cultural administration and arts management programs worldwide. Notes Varbanova, “this is also a useful reading for arts managers, cultural administrators, arts entrepreneurs, board members, project leaders and business managers in the arts who need step-by-step guidance in the process of strategic management and a fresh approach in the elaboration of a strategic plan.”
In order to produce Strategic Management in the Arts, Varbanova undertook the review and analysis of over 350 theoretical resources and selected 16 case studies in countries around the world, including Canada. “The qualitative research forms the backbone of the book’s findings and is based on a series of questionnaires and interviews with 90 arts managers, experts, scholars and cultural professionals from Europe, Canada and Asia,” she explains. “These cases and examples illustrate the complexity of managing diverse arts organisations strategically by applying elements of innovation and organizational entrepreneurship, or what is called intrapreneurship.”
Varbanova thinks that artists especially will benefit from reading Strategic Management in the Arts. “This book will help artists shift their minds from creative processes to the pragmatic language of management, marketing and economics. That way, they can learn how to run their organizations and projects efficiently and sustainable in the long term, keeping in mind the importance of money and markets in the field of the arts today.”
SPECIAL EVENT: Round table discussion on Strategic Management in the Arts
Lidia Varbanova will be joined by: Silvy Panet-Raymond, acting chair of Concordia University’s Department of Contemporary Dance; and John Hobday, former director of the Canada Council for the Arts and a longtime leader in arts management, broadcasting, philanthropy, corporate sponsorship and cultural advocacy.
When: Wednesday, March 27, 2013, at 5:30 p.m.
Where: Room EV-1.165, Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (1515 Ste-Catherine St. W.), Sir George Williams Campus
A separate event celebrating the launch of Strategic Management in the Arts will be held at Chapters bookstore (1171 Ste-Catherine St. W.) on Friday, March 29, from 5 to 9 p.m. Varbanova will be on hand to sign copies of her book and talk more about the subject.
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