The role of arts education in advancing leadership life skills for young people

This paper contends that the arts provide a foundation for the intensifying effort that leadership, creative aptitude and expertise are making to existing and emerging professions. Participation in arts-based (school and/or community) programs 'have proven to be educational, developmentally rich, and cost-effective ways to provide students the skills they need to be productive participants in today's economy' (Psilos, 2002, p. 2). In particular, this paper explores the relationship between leadership development in young people through their engagement with arts education experiences, specifically the capacity of the arts to develop the generic skills of communication, team work, problem-solving and creative interpretation-skills considered essential for productive participation in today's economy and skills that augment leadership potential.

Cultural sustainability of the arts through cross cultural market segmentation

The cultural characteristics attributed to individuals in their country of birth are likely to change through immigration and acculturation processes taking place in the host country. Immigrants are likely to develop their own unique cultural styles through a blending of their old culture and the host culture. With slightly less than half of the population born overseas or with at least one parent born overseas, and with some 200 languages Australia has one of the most cosmopolitan populations in the world, with a relatively small population of 20 million. This paper considers the cross cultural nature of the Australian population and the sustainability of culture through the Arts. This paper also considers the marketing of the arts from a cross cultural segmentation perspective. In so doing the paper identifies segmentation issues associated with cross cultural segmentation.

Valuing the arts : theorising and realising cultural capital in an Australian city

For those who make and admire artistic works, there is no question of their value. However, for others interested in economic development, the value of the arts is often more tangential, contested and questionable. While the post-modern world of consumption and spectacle suggests to some academics and governments that the arts and cultural industries are the way of the future, others remain sceptical about their social and economic value. This is a theoretical as well as a practical issue this paper explores by offering a reconceptualisation of Pierre Bourdieu's concept of cultural capital as a way of re-assessing the value of the arts. The paper then applies this framework to quantify and qualify the value of the arts in one regional city in Australia – Geelong in Victoria – focusing on the work of two artists. The aim is to describe the interconnected processes by which the arts generate cultural capital in the form of confidence, image, individual well-being, social cohesion and economic viability. The analysis also highlights the ongoing power relations which prescribe artistic production, circulation and valuation. The implications of such a rethinking and application go well beyond one city and region to other places grappling with the relationship between artistic production and urban well being. By focusing on the broad-ranging process by which artistic value is created for individuals, groups, professionals, communities and governments, a model becomes available for other places to use in realising their cultural capital.

Performing on boards: the link between governance and corporate reputation in nonprofit arts boards

This paper is built on the hypothesis that good governance and reputation are inextricably linked. It takes the governance of performing arts organizations in Queensland, Australia as a case study, and focuses on the role of the nonprofit arts board and its practices of governance and measures of effectiveness. Because of the financial constraints under which arts companies operate, their sustainability relies on audiences and on government or corporate support. The reputation of the company flows from the board's capacity to manage finances, stakeholders and mission. In-depth interviews with board chairs and general managers revealed that strong management systems and rigorous financial reporting are the drivers of good governance. Innovation in product development and artistic excellence are secondary in reputation to these measures. The paper proposes a model of good governance for arts boards.

Social intervention or market intervention? A problem for governments in promoting the value of the Arts

The research design for this paper is based on the critical need for greater emphasis by Australian arts organizations on relationship marketing as a means of achieving sustainability. Recent injections of government funds into the performing arts in Australia, to meet a "crisis" in financial viability and audience development, highlighted the dependence of arts organizations on government funds in building audiences. A hypothesis was developed through an analysis of the literature on relationship marketing, cultural economics and value measurement, and an analysis of the long-term outcomes of government strategies for the funding of arts marketing. The hypothesis is that while social intervention is acceptable (even desirable and necessary), and achieves the social goals of governments, market intervention reduces the benefits of relationship-building and the exchange of values between arts organizations and their audiences.

Analysis of government documents and primary research in audience development proved the hypothesis. Empirical research resulted in the development of a theory and model that describe the limits of market intervention and in the development of a definition of values in the continuum of government activity from social to market intervention. The model could be useful for governments in developing arts policy with regard to audiencebuilding. It could also be useful in demonstrating to arts managers that sustainability results not from government funding but rather from relationship-marketing strategies.

Relationship marketing, audience retention and performing arts organisation viability

Marketing strategy in performing arts organisations has become particularly important in the increasingly competitive environment in which the arts operate. Since the late 1980s there has been a necessary shift in focus to audience development away from product development. This change in focus is being encouraged to ensure the long-term viability of performing arts organisations (PAOs) and micro-economic reform. While government reports have recommended strategies aimed at building audience based recognition, this is an expensive approach for many PAOs and does not produce short term returns. Little attention has been paid to building enduring relationships with existing audiences as a way if having a more dramatic impact on PAOs' long-term viability. This paper explores this theme through relationship marketing and the implication of retaining existing audiences. The paper identifies the changing cultural environment which has led to the importance if marketing. It then explains the concepts if relationship marketing and its pertinence to PAOs' viability by presenting a loyalty ladder. The structure is modelled as a dynamic conceptualisation of the relationships (audience and organisation) to assist arts managers to decide whether to focus their efforts on catching or keeping customers to maximise earned income.

What is the value of the arts?

In an age of globalisation, economic restructuring and rampant consumption, the "cultural industries" have come to be viewed as offering a source of social and economic salvation to declining towns, cities and regions. However, it is far from clear to what extent the arts, media and related tourism create employment, wealth, capital and community cohesion. What then is the value of the cultural industries and what concepts can be deployed to answer this question? This paper will report on one effort to devise a theoretical framework to assess the value of the cultural industries in one small Australian city. Drawing on Marxism, Pierre Boudieu and post-modem theory, it will develop a particular concept of "cultural capital" for use in quantifying and qualifying the socio-economic contribution of the cultural industries in Geelong, Victoria. It will argue that by linking Marx to Bourdieu around reformulated notions of "value" and "cultural capital", a theoretically rigorous framework can be distilled to assess and argue for the value of the arts. Such a concept has particular relevance and implications for arts managers.

Ethical behaviour: the foundation stone for entrepreneurial activity in arts organisations

Entrepreneurship is being touted as the way forward for arts organisations unsure of the level of continued government funding available and confronted with the need to ever improve. At a time when leadership and governance in cultural organisations have changed in line with cultural expectations, how is their ethical stance assessed? In an age of globalisation, economic restructuring and technological change, museums are sometimes seen to be something of a contradiction. Traditionally seen as temples for the muses, today's museums are being challenged to be ethical for society. As a solution, this paper proposes a Cooperative Model of Cultural Organisational Ethics that attempts to provide a framework by which arts organisations can put in place ethical artefacts that enhance organisational performance, rather than detract from it.

Entrepreneurship in the markets of nonprofit performing arts organisations

This paper explores how managers in nonprofit performing arts organizations balance the interests of the various funding sources and market opportunities to service their revenue requirements. It reviews a tension in nonprofit performing arts organizations: the relationship between limited funding and the subsequent need to act entrepreneurially and innovatively amongst the various funding sources. Using a longitudinal analysis of annual reports in six major nonprofit performing arts organisations in Australia since 1975, the paper uncovers some of the interplay essential to entrepreneurship. From this discussion, different strategies and tensions are highlighted that nonprofit general managers have used. Comparisons are made with nonprofit art museums which previous research has shown have the same funding tensions.

A brief review of PhDs in creative and performing arts in Australia

This paper reports on an aspect of a pilot project conducted in 2003 by the authors comprising a bibliographic analysis of all (approximately 51,000) Australian PhDs. The pilot work is both a data and methodological basis for a larger project that investigates the nature and development of PhDs in Australia as they evolved in the context of national economic, social and educational changes. This paper reviews the evidence from the bibliographic data held in library catalogues of PhDs in each Australian university. After considering the definitional properties and their operationalisation, the paper provides an overview of the first instances, locations and frequencies of PhDs in the creative and performing arts in Australia, fields which are relatively new to doctoral study and which pose challenges in terms of doctoral pedagogy and scholarship. This is contextualised in terms of the development of the contemporary university sector during the 1990s, including the growth in the creative and performing arts therein.

From the comforts of print to the possibilities of digital media: leading the way in teaching political leadership in a faculty of arts

Since it inception, Deakin University has been committed to the delivery of innovative, high quality course materials to its off campus students. Until recently these packages were predominantly print based, although augmented with audio-visual materials delivered in cassette format. Ironically, with the advent of information and communications technologies (ICT), and some select computer assisted learning and multimedia packages, there was an overall decline in the use of audio and video as important means of enhancing learning. Like many other universities, Deakin has moved to a strong, centralised approach to the provision of its digital and online corporate technology environment. With investment in these technologies has come a renewed interest in the ways in which text and audio-visual materials in digital form can enhance students' learning experiences. Moreover, the ways in which a variety of digital media supported by online developments can create new models and approaches to teaching/learning has figured prominently. This paper presents a case study of how this challenge has been taken up in a unit, Political Leadership, in the Faculty of Arts. The academic teacher's intentions in moving to a completely digital approach are examined along with students' experiences of learning in the subject. Issues are considered from the experience.

Location, location, location: exploring the importance of place for arts organisations

Many arts managers and marketers are looking intently at the importance of high-speed communication and other technologies for the creation of virtual places. These places in cyberspace can only be accessed via a computer terminal and high-speed telecommunications tools. This paper asserts that there is still much for managers and marketers to learn about the importance of physical spaces for the arts. We use a model of place and apply it to three Australian arts organisations located in heritage buildings. One organisation failed, the other changed ownership, the third moved location. The findings demonstrate the importance of place and of strategy in determining place. We note the tension between the strategy, the venue, the objects, and the essential task and call for further analysis of place(s) for the arts.

Arts marketing challenges in multicultural societies

With an increasingly diverse, multicultural society in many countries, it is timely to look more closely at the current literature on arts marketing, ethnic identity and segmentation issues. The growth of diverse, multicultural societies in many countries warrants a closer examination of arts marketing and the use of ethnicity as a basis for segmentation, as these issues have implications for attracting and retaining arts audiences and other consumers of arts related activities. Researchers in the arts industry have stressed the importance of understanding the fundamentals of audience development and the ability to focus on satisfying the needs and wants of their audiences. The focus on marketing activities comes at a time when there is greater pressure on arts organisations to move beyond their traditional role as subsidized non-profit organisations in order to become more self-supporting. Internationally, audience development in the arts industry has focused on segmentation dimensions such as youth, mature aged individuals, geographic location (rural), individuals with disabilities, low income earners, and individuals with culturally diverse backgrounds. Most of these potential segments are under represented in the population of arts consumers in Australia, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and North America. Of those dimensions, segmentation of arts markets by cultural differences such as ethnic identity appears to be a somewhat under researched area. Hofstede's (1980) model of national cultural differences continues to be widely used as a basis for strategic and marketing decisions in international business. However, the cultural characteristics attributed to individuals in their country of birth are likely to change through immigration to another country. In this situation, the ability to predict the consumption behaviour of various ethnic groups is complicated by acculturation processes in which arrivals attempt to adapt to their new environment. Over time, this process has resulted in the emergence of bicultural individuals who are able to switch, at will, between their ethnic identity and an identity aligned with their host country, or a combination of both at any time. Ethnic identity and affiliation with ethnic groups can also change over time, suggesting challenges for arts marketing approaches, and the application of market segmentation theory in particular.