Current Literature Analysis of Arts and Cultural Management

Abstract

Purpose: Arts and cultural management are a field with unique meaning and significance. This study is uniquely based on the focus of arts and cultural management on social and cultural sustainability sets it apart from other related study fields. Through delving into arts and cultural management, one can quickly gain skills vis-à-vis creativity and innovation in traditional and emerging media platforms. Research design, data and methodology: The current researcher relied on the descriptive research design, arriving at and evaluating the findings. The descriptive research design was the most ideal because of the need to evaluate the various literature sources systematically and later describe them without undue influence. Results: This research's core finding of art and cultural management in the current literature may be split up four findings, such as (1) Art and Cultural Management is Fast Embracing Digital Innovations and Related Elements, (2) Data and Analytics in Art and Cultural Management, (3) Interdisciplinary Nature of Arts and Cultural Management Elements, and (4) Arts and Cultural Management Face Numerous Challenges that Define it and its Future. Conclusions: All in all, based on the literature findings, the present research concludes that It is incumbent upon the various stakeholders, such as the government, to prioritize the arts and cultural management field through adequate budgeting and allocation of money.

1. Introduction

Arts and culture are fundamental cornerstones in many societies and communities. They are primarily renowned for their unique role in shaping a society or community's true identity, underpinnings and character. Therefore, a community or people are better recognized and described because of significant aspects and impact such as arts and culture. As such, arts and cultural management play a critical role and have a special place in any societal setting and its multidimensional domains.

Arts and cultural management are a field with unique meaning and significance. Per Devereaux (2018), arts and cultural management primarily focuses on exploring the tensions between various connotations of culture. First, culture is an existing economic activity in any given social setting. Second, culture is a symbolic way of expressing multiple core aspects such as identity, governance and societal organization. Arts and cultural management are crucial in creating and enhancing a society's sense of belonging and identity.

Arts and cultural management play a crucial role in the existence and meaning of cultural organizations and activities. Guzak and Kang (2018) asserts that cultural management primarily entails practices that promote the existence and significance of cultural organizations and activities. It implies that arts and cultural management initiatives and activities pave the way to realizing and improving knowledge about a community's core aspects, such as cultural organizations. Per Keeney and Jung (2022), specifically cultural management drives, coordinates and plays a crucial role in putting strategies and activities that ultimately impact any given cultural setting in multidimensional ways.

The multifaceted and multidimensional nature of arts and cultural management is the hallmark of its comprehensiveness and essence of application in multiple domains. Delving deep into the field fosters an understanding of explicit and a wide array of things that transcend the boundaries of simply dealing with arts and cultural aspects. They include marketing, legal compliance and business aspects (Morrow, 2018). Therefore, stakeholders such as researchers and students, courtesy of the field, can apply their findings and knowledge to various fields and industry practicums.

The unique focus of arts and cultural management on social and cultural sustainability sets it apart from other related study fields. Through delving into arts and cultural management, one can quickly gain skills vis-à-vis creativity and innovation in traditional and emerging media platforms. Additionally, knowledge of the topic is critical in promoting critical societal industries such as music (Redaelli, 2016). Thus, the topic provides essential skills and knowledge that can be applied in formal and informal work domains such as incorporates, music etc.

Multiple industries are underpinned and influenced by arts and cultural management concepts. One such key industry is the music industry. The link between music and culture explains the above. It is sufficient to state that music reflects various cultural and artistic aspects of a given community. Therefore, findings on arts and cultural management influence the direction, future and practice of music. Additionally, arts and cultural management influence other aspects, such as visual arts.

This study delves into analyzing the various works of literature on arts and cultural management. The Study aims to establish other scholars' and researchers' findings, arguments and conclusions regarding the topic. Additionally, the research would establish the gap in the study and its implications on the topic/ field. Elsewhere, the gap would form a basis for various recommendations on how to fill it to make the topic more robust and comprehensive and include its elements. The findings of this paper would be of value and immense use by various stakeholders such as researchers, scholars, and students who are researching or interested in conclusions about the field and its applications or significance.

Figure 1: Research Purpose

2. Literature Review

Schiuma (2017), in research on the significance of arts and cultural management, defined it as a field of study and practice that identifies and analyzes culture as a multifaceted element. First, it evaluates culture as a societal economic activity. Second, culture is how people symbolically express their multidimensional life aspects through various themes and how the two interlink. The core themes include community identity, governance, and cultural organizations. Byrnes (2022), on the other hand, defines art management exclusively as focusing on the study and practices regarding managing arts and cultural elements and aspects. The above include cultural organizations such as galleries, museums and the music industry.

Maddikunta et al. (2022), in similar research as Schiuma (2017), explain that one of the core roles of arts and cultural management is promoting and preserving culture and arts in society. Specifically, they explain that art management is fundamental in assisting artists in identifying strategies for acquiring their skills, showcasing their works and reaching wider audiences. Brook et al. (2020) support the above by adding that arts and cultural management also assists artists or cultural organizations in securing project funding. The above implies that arts and cultural management is not only helpful in improving the plight of artists and cultural organizations. However, it is also essential to ensure that artists and cultural organizations get monetary gains for their work.

Brook et al. (2020) explain that arts and cultural management have profound social and economic impacts on various aspects and works of art. Per the writers, courtesy of arts and cultural management, it is possible to achieve strategic planning, administering, and multiple activities for art organizations. Additionally, aspects such as strategic and daily management of museums and galleries and culture enhancement are actualized courtesy of the arts and cultural management inputs and elements. The above collectively enhances the importance of the local and global economies.

Towse and Hernández (2020) explored the core elements of culture as a critical aspect of arts and cultural management. Their findings revealed that the core elements of culture include music, art, literature and dances. Others are poetry and architecture. The above elements are used to portray or signify a given culture, its tenets and its significance. Alexander (2020), in similar research, focused on the essence of music as a significant element of culture. They asserted that music is a long-existing form of expressing various aspects of a given culture. For example, music can describe cultural tenets, why they matter, and how they are applied in society. Therefore, the arts and cultural management field is critical in influencing the direction and future of the music industry.

Tonks (2020), in a similar study to Towse and Hernández (2020), explained the core practices and application areas of arts and cultural management. According to the writers, the field is used when planning, controlling and organizing vis-à-vis the artistic works. The goal is to ensure that the artistic work is delivered to the audience in the manner desired by the various stakeholders, such as the artists themselves. As such, art management is vital in ensuring that artistic work and artists achieve their best in the art industry.

Redaelli (2016) explored the broad areas of arts and cultural management. According to the writers, the field entails multidimensional areas of professional practices such as financial management, policy and legal, and community engagement. Additionally, it is also essential in production and distribution practices. It implies that arts and cultural management are not only applied in artwork, as the title could insinuate. Instead, its comprehensive nature makes it essential and applicable in other fields, such as business and administration.

Henze et al. (2018) explored the essence and impact of arts and cultural management in a given society. According to the writers, arts and cultural management is critical in promoting the local culture of a given place. It also promotes the history and influences the future of a given place or society. The above is vital for various industries, such as the hospitality industry. Essentially, it underscores the importance of arts and cultural management in influencing industries such as music. As such, it is essential to appropriately utilize the findings of the topic if one desires to understand how the music industry will be influenced in the future.

Xenikou (2022) reiterates the above findings, who explored the concept of arts and cultural management in the context of the discourse of practice. Essentially, the writers delved into institutionalized means of thinking and arrived at the findings regarding the topic. Xenikou (2022) explains that thriving arts and cultural managers must have robust skills and experience in multiple fields. They include marketing, economics, broad management etc. The above skills are necessary to ensure a high level of competence for arts and cultural management practitioners. Essentially, the writers aim to promote competence and performance in multidimensional areas of application of concepts, findings and practices related to arts and cultural management.

The research and findings by Xenikou (2022) are further reiterated by Brakhas et al. (2021), who explains that the art world is dynamic and changes more often, thus necessitating a change or improvement of the arts and cultural management practices and skills. They describe practices in art segments such as fine arts, applied arts and heritage arts. For example, commercial arts entail the entertainment industry, which is commonly punctuated by the music element. Such art engagement is an arts for-profit that needs expertise and experience regarding applying the skills and knowledge on arts and cultural management in the best possible way. As such, the writers advocate for better policies geared towards improving the acquisition of arts and cultural management skills, retaining them, and applying and rewarding criteria. According to Brakhas et al. (2021), the above recommendations would be critical to enhancing practices and the impact of arts and cultural management as a field and a topic.

The literature review above reveals a significant gap regarding the interrelationship between the various study and practice domains of arts and cultural management and its impact. Many researchers and scholars focus on the significance and application of the multiple elements and domains of arts and cultural management. Additionally, many researchers have focused primarily on narrow arts and cultural management domains. Thus, there is a significant gap regarding how the different study and practice domains of arts and cultural management are interrelated, and the impact of such a relationship toward betterment negatively affects the field. There is a need for the above gap to be filled through comprehensive and dedicated research and reliable findings to enhance the robustness, applicability and essence of the arts and cultural management study field/ topic.

3. Methodology

The current researcher relied on the descriptive research design, arriving at and evaluating the findings. The descriptive research design was the most ideal because of the need to evaluate the various literature sources systematically and later describe them without undue influence (Rezigalla, 2020).

3.1. Research Tool

The researcher utilized the meta-analysis statistical tool to combine the various findings from the analyzed sources (Siedlecki, 2020). Additionally, the tool enabled the researcher to create a single pool that made it possible to arrive at more accurate and common findings.

The researcher used the PRISMA research method to review the various literature sources systematically. The sources that were used were strictly about the arts and cultural management. Both primary and secondary sources qualified for review, provided they were relevant to the topic. Any irrelevant sources were left out. Additionally, the method entailed a review of the quantitative and qualitative sources to arrive at robust and reliable findings (Page et al., 2021; Kang & Hwang, 2018). The following PRISMA diagram is a visual depiction of the processes followed when using the PRISMA method in reviewing the literature sources during the study.

3.2. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria

The researcher only utilized literature and scholarly sources about the arts and cultural management topic/field. Any other sources not majoring in the topic were deemed irrelevant and were excluded from the study. Additionally, the researcher opted for the most recent sources and, therefore, put a cap on sources published not later than the last eight years as the ideal ones. The above was to ensure that the findings of the research were up to date and relevant because of the dynamic nature of the topic, i.e., the topic's core elements change often, such as cultural practices and the various art segments that also change or are improved daily (Radbourne, 2023). As such, utilizing older scholarly publications could have increased the risks of irrelevancy, being out of date and non-reliability of the findings.

3.3. Data Processing and Storage Tools

The researcher relied upon the easily and cheaply available tools and equipment for storing and processing data. They include laptops, notebooks and physical forms for entry of notes, analysis details and other details deemed necessary for the study (Page et al., 2021; Kim & Kang, 2022). The researcher then compared the findings through observations and physical comparisons based on the various set comparison criteria. The above made it possible to refine the findings and arrive at the final set of conclusions as described in the findings section.

4. Results

4.1. Art and Cultural Management is Fast Embracing Digital Innovations and Related Elements

This research's first and foremost core finding was that art and cultural management are fast changing and embracing digital inputs and elements in contemporary times. One of the exciting contemporary innovations is the rising popularity of social media, as provided by many scholars in the evaluated sources (Brakhas et al., 2021). Many writers described social media platforms such as TikTok and X are taking the world by storm thanks to the invention of the internet (Radbourne, 2023). As such, people's culture quickly shifts towards more cordial and significant interactions on social media. Therefore, according to almost all the sources evaluated regarding the finding, it suffices to assert that many artists, artworks and cultural institutions must shift their work to be showcased on social media for maximum audience (Băeşu & Bejinaru, 2020). Equally, art and cultural management practices must shift to conform to modern trends for relevancy and maximum returns.

Equally, many evaluated sources pointed towards branding and image elements as some of the most common areas of concern vis-à-vis the need to conform to modern art and cultural management trends. All the sources evaluated regarding these findings revealed that People, i.e., the audience, are increasingly becoming obsessed with branding, brand name, brand strength and image of given artists and cultural institutions (Olson et al., 2021). The methodology for arriving at the above findings differed between writers. Actual primary research informed some, while others relied on systematic reviews of existing primary sources. Therefore, all the sources evaluated except two asserted that art and cultural managers are increasingly shifting their focus towards ensuring that the online presence of the various artists, artworks and other cultural management aspects, such as regarding the corporates' operations, display the best possible images and promote the best possible brand name (Towse & Hernández, 2020). for instance, ensuring that branding is aligned with the kind of music that one produces is critical in ensuring that a given art or cultural product appeals to the target audience.

4.2. Data and Analytics in Art and Cultural Management

After evaluating all the relevant sources, the second finding was that art and cultural management is fast embracing the utilization of data and analysis in making strategic decisions that yield the most yields for the various stakeholders in the field. Per Radbourne (2023), Modern technology has made it possible to track the practices, evaluate them, determine their impacts and finally inform the best course of action using real-time data and findings. Additionally, demographics can be analyzed regarding their various characteristics to determine the best possible decisions and courses of action (Devereaux, 2018). Therefore, various art and cultural management stakeholders leverage such data to move towards excellence and top-notch operations.

Data and analysis are preferred because of their comprehensive nature. Guzak and Kang (2018), in an evaluation of the importance of data and analytics in modern art and cultural management, established that data-based analysis is synonymous with a strong presence in art management. The findings of 5 other research studies on the topic supported the above finding. The above findings point to the robustness of the assertion regarding data and analytics in art and cultural management, as evidenced by the above writers (Woo & Kang, 2021).

4.3. Interdisciplinary Nature of Arts and Cultural Management Elements

Analysis of the reviewed sources revealed that most authors established that arts and cultural management is a complex field. The complexity is drawn from the interaction between the disciplines that make up the field. Additionally, the interaction between the various practices of the field contributes to its complexity (Keeney & Jung, 2022). As such, most authors and scholars reiterated the need for comprehensive delving into the core elements of the field/topic.

There are many areas of arts and cultural management. The main areas described by most of the writers and sources evaluated included community engagement, economics, financial management, and policy and legal (Alexander, 2020). The above shows that arts and cultural management is not restricted to the music industry only. However, per the assertions by most of the literature sources evaluated, arts and cultural management is multidimensional, and therefore, its scope of application is broad (Redaelli, 2016). As such, there is a need to improve knowledge, practices, and application to ensure that arts and cultural management produces the biggest and best possible impact regardless of its application area, as called upon by most scholars.

4.4. Arts and Cultural Management Face Numerous Challenges

There are various issues for many practitioners and stakeholders in arts and cultural management. The most highlighted thing from the reviewed sources was the shortage of funding and the diminishing number of experts in the field. Notable aspects regarding the shortage of funding were the fact that many writers pointed out the decreasing subsidies towards the arts and cultural management sector in the English arts sectors (Schiuma, 2017). The above cash crunch implies that many arts and cultural management activities are stalled or poorly done, thus hampering the ability to achieve the desired results.

The shortage of art and cultural managers is another issue bedeviling the arts and cultural management field. The most highlighted cause of such a shortage of arts and cultural managers was the threats that such professionals face. For instance, the limited rotation and inadequate training in the field, coupled with poor payments, do not attract many professionals to the field (Byrnes, 2022). As such, there is a growing scarcity of arts and cultural management managers, as described by many scholars and writers in the sources evaluated.

Table 1: Summary of the Research Result

5. Conclusion and Limitations

Digital innovations are defining contemporary trends vis-à-vis arts and cultural management. The world is fast embracing technology, as underscored by the quick increase in the popularity of social media sites. It implies that art and cultural management stakeholders such as managers and artists need to conform to it or risk being irrelevant or gaining the least from such trends (Schiuma, 2017). music artists need to embrace technology and leverage it to achieve the highest possible returns. In the future, musicians and the music industry will need to capitalize on social media for the popularity of their songs, monetary gains and to achieve the desired impacts, such as mobilization of the masses via social media and other online platforms compared to traditional/conventional techniques (Keeney & Jung, 2022). Thus, there is a need to ensure that art and cultural management practices and tenets are aligned with modern innovations and technological advancement trends to yield the best possible results and impact.

Data and analytics are quickly gaining popularity in arts and cultural management. They provide the most accurate and realistic basis for making strategic decisions that yield the best possible results (Băeşu & Bejinaru, 2020). In the music industry, for instance, there is a high likelihood that in the future, correct decisions on various aspects, such as marketing sites on digital platforms, would be informed by accurate and reliable pertinent data and analytics. The above implies that in the future, many such decisions regarding the music industry will heavily rely on data and analytics compared to traditional practices, such as those based on advisories that are not backed by data. Additionally, other arts and cultural management practices, such as in corporates and business management, would significantly rely on data and analytics for accuracy, reliability and effectiveness (Xenikou, 2022). Therefore, It is vital to ensure that the above trends define arts and cultural management curricula and practices. The essence is to enhance the impact and outcomes regarding the practices and application areas of arts and cultural management.

Additionally, there is a need to improve data and analytics collection, processing and utilization in arts and cultural management. Stakeholders can focus on digital innovations and software development that can be used to achieve the best possible results regarding collecting and utilizing data analytics and data in arts and cultural management (Henze et al., 2018). the above would promote the prevalence, scope and impact of using data and analytics in arts and cultural management as a field.

The complexity of the arts and cultural management is informed by its interdisciplinary nature. Contrary to the connotation that arts and cultural management refer to art matters only, the field is comprehensive and deals with many aspects. They are far and wide and include aspects of corporate issues and even business aspects. Therefore, various stakeholders must understand their niche and deliver the best. Notably, the musicians need to know how the topic is linked with their work, such as through the management of their songs, audience management etc. The above would ensure that the various stakeholders get the possible outcomes in the field.

Stakeholders face many challenges despite the many benefits, practices, applications, and impact of art and cultural management in society. They include shortage of funds, lack of proper stakeholders interworking synergy and shortage of professionals. An example highlighted is the diminishing number of art and cultural managers in many Western nations. The above is informed by the constant threats and demoralizing factors such as poor remuneration offered to them. It is incumbent upon the various stakeholders, such as the government, to prioritize the arts and cultural management field through adequate budgeting and allocation of money. Additionally, enforcing the working conditions of art and cultural managers would attract many professionals. The above and many more deliberate efforts would help significantly in mitigating the various challenges and ensuring that stakeholders in the field benefit from the most and best possible gains and benefits.

The study relied entirely on primary sources, i.e., those published by other authors. It is sufficient to state that the researcher systematically reviewed other sources and analyzed the collected information to arrive at the above findings. Therefore, this research is prone to a possible error related to the primary research.

Due to the nature of this research, it could be prone to multi-dimensional errors. They include sampling errors, omissions, and data evaluations by primary researchers. This systematic review depended significantly on the peer-reviewed sources to minimize the mistakes. Additionally, the researcher evaluated whether the authors were renowned in the field and their contributions. The above helped to enhance the credibility of their findings and subsequent reliability.