What do we make artists run businesses? Why do we let artists run businesses?

What do we make artists run businesses? Why do we let artists run businesses?

Laura Greenfield, 29 September 2012

Why do we?

- Because it has to happen?
- Do you have to ‘earn’ your artistic freedom by playing the business game (e.g. building up a brand, reputation, funds??) and what are the costs to the art involved in this?

What are the problems with it?

- Artistic and business skills are rarely found in the same person and one person can never do everything well
- The art can suffer because of the business
- The business can suffer because of the art

- A vicious circle: artists need to employ a ‘business head’ but because they haven't yet got a ‘business head’ they don't have enough money to employ the right one - “chicken and egg”
- In bigger organisations, who gets the power? Is it the Artistic Director or the Executive Director who are ultimately in charge?

(- Arts needs to have ultimate control, but they must be aware of the business pressures and arts cannot have the final say at all costs - for example, at the expense of bankruptcy or illegality!)

Are there any good things about it?

- Can necessity drive invention? Can constraints make arts better?

What are the potential solutions?

- More than one person! More business managers for people who can support the arts and networks, training and education for those managers
- Better marriages between business and artists (in the same individual? In one individual?)

- A scheme for matching artists to arts managers/producers
- Training courses from organisations like ITC
- A network of producers for peer learning
- A ‘Dragon’s Den' for the arts where producers can take forward ideas?!?
- A better understanding of the role of the producer, whether they are called the Administrator, the Producer or the Executive Director

(- but do we have this balance right in the UK already, in comparison to the more business-led US and the more artist-led France?)

Tags:

Training, arts management, networks, Producers, business, training, producers, arts funding, producing