We uncover the critical success factors for high-performance –

Arts management

in collaboration with the Arts Administration Program at Boston University and the Graduate School of Economics & Business at the University of Groningen

Arts marketing and performance management – closing the gap between mission and indicators

Marketing in the arts sector has evolved during the past decades from a functional tool to a business philosophy. At the same time, a relational view of art as experience has emerged in the contemporary arts philosophy, highlighting the role of arts consumers in the creation and reception of arts. As a consequence, arts consumers ask a central role in the artistic mission of arts organizations embracing a relational view of the arts, challenging the role of arts marketing both as a practice and as an academic discipline. Against this background, financial figures and audience numbers are insufficient indicators of the contribution that arts marketing makes to the functioning of arts organizations. Francesco Chiaravalloti’s article suggests to evaluate the performance of arts marketing based on the contribution made to the achievement of the arts organization’s artistic mission and proposes a model based on Kaplan and Norton’s Balanced Scorecard to guide the artistic-mission-led evaluation of arts marketing performance. By paying attention to the new strategic role of arts marketing within the emerging relational view of the arts, and by integrating recent literature on performance management in non-profit organizations, we make a theoretical contribution to the body of knowledge on arts marketing performance evaluation.

Arts administrators face wicked problems

A wicked problem has no definitive formulation and no definitive solution; solutions to wicked problems are only better-or-worse and have unforeseeable consequences; the solving process of a wicked problem is unique; and a wicked problem is the symptom of another problem. In the context of comparative cultural policy and arts administration, Philippe Rixhon facilitated a seminar at Boston University on 3 July 2008. First, the students checked together if national cultural policy and artistic policy (the strategy of a cultural institution) are wicked problems or not. Then, they outlined the consequences of the findings for the arts administrator and the strategic planning of arts organizations.

Performance management for performing arts – a framework for the evaluation of artistic quality in public professional opera houses

On 6 July 2005, at the biennial International Conference on Arts and Cultural Management (AIMAC), Francesco Chiaravalloti presented the development of an opera-specific framework for the managerial evaluation of artistic quality. The proposed framework considers all factors that delineate the current concept of artistic quality in an opera house, thus enabling the main opera stakeholders to agree on its indicators. Through theoretical and practical validations, this innovative framework aims to set standards for performance management for other performing arts.

Innovation

in collaboration with the Department of Mechanical and Processs Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Zurich) and the Karlshochschule International University (Karlsruhe)

Life and innovation – a practitioner’s narrative

On 16 September 2010, Philippe Rixhon will deliver the key note speech at the coming international conference Narrative and Innovation organised by the Karlshochschule International University. The lecture – based on true stories – will present a practitioner's perspective on the levers that open new paths to opportunity recognition, entrepreneurial innovation and business development in uncertain and contingent markets.

Innovation leadership – best practices from theatre creators

Creation and innovation unfold differently in specific cultures; and it is the cradle of leadership which shapes every individual culture. Following more than twenty-five years of innovation practice in the manufacturing, service and theatre sectors, Philippe Rixhon derives five leadership characteristics from theatrical creation and recommends their broader application. This article outlines how theatre leaders innovate, what kind of techniques they use and which other business sectors they can be adopted for. It is published by Symposion in the third band of their series about The New Art of Leadership.

Journals

ArtsJournal – online daily digest of arts, culture and ideas
International Journal of Arts Management
International Journal of Cultural Policy
Journal of Cultural Economics
The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society