Arts Management - Essay Example

Arts Management Name of Student: Name of Course: Name of Instructor: Date of Submission: Arts Management Introduction There is no precise definition of Art. According to Carroll, (1988, p.140) it changes from person to person Generally, arts can be defined as means in which people use unique performed, drawn, engraved, curved, sculptured or molded or any other form to deliver a specific message. Ideally, arts are a reflection of a society. Looking at most pieces of art, it can be acknowledged that they give messages which are related to specific issues that are pertinent to the society in which they are located in. In the wake of increased dilution of culture and values, arts have been used to conserve the heritage and cultures of society (Carroll 1988, p.140). Art has been used to transmit culture and values of societies from one generation to another. Additionally, it is worth noting that art is a means of livelihood for many artists. Arts management is normally affected by many economic, political, social and cultural factors. Asia is one of the regions in the world which is rich in art (Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum 2014, p.1). With a special focus to the Asian art and the Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum, the following essay will discuss several economic, political, social and cultural issues affecting arts management. Economic Economic issues are some of the most important factors which influence the management of art. On this point, it is worth acknowledging the fact that finances are important for any activity or industry. One of the major economic issues that affect the management of art is funding. Funding is an economic function that influences the ability of an arts organization to source for pieces of arts, establish good facilities, pay its employees and pay for miscellaneous expenses among others. Generally, the arts industry has not received equal focus from stakeholders in the market as compared to other sectors in the market. For instance, government authorities have little concern about the funding of arts related organizations as compared to other sectors in the economy. Additionally, financial services providers for example banks do not value the industry as compared to others hence the challenges faced by arts organizations in accessing funds. However, this trend is changing as government authorities and other institutions are looking at the financial feasibility of the arts industry resulting to increased funding (Strayhorn 2006, p.12). However, funding remains a key economic challenge in arts management. Another economic factor affecting art management is the global economy. On this point, it is worth noting that arts organizations exist in the broader global economy. For this reason, factors in the global economy which touch on the issues affecting the arts industry have a substantial impact on it (Sue 2011 p. 19). Taking an example of the financial crises that hit the globe after several years, it can be acknowledged that the recession and inflations that is associated with it leads to a rise in the cost of doing business and a reduced purchasing power of the clients. This in turn has a negative impact on the financial stability of organizations operating in the arts industry. Looking at the situation at the Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum, it can be appreciated that the organization’s client flow fluctuated substantially during the recent global economic crisis. This had a negative impact on the museum’s finances. From the arguments above, it can be acknowledged that the global economy has substantial impacts on the management of arts organizations. Lastly, the economic benefits associated with art organizations and art ventures have a major impact on the management of the art industry. On this point, it is worth noting that the modern art industry is highly commercial as compared to the traditional one (Rentschler 2002, p.24). For this reason, the management of modern art organizations has shifted drastically as compared to what was done in the ancient times. The tourism industry has art as a special part of the package offered to tourists (Durmaz, Platt & Yigitcanlar 2010, p. 199). It is important to note that Asia has some of the most celebrated art in the history of man. Ranging from sculptures, performed arts such as martial arts to architecture, Asia remains one of the top destinations for arts tourists. For this reason, the management of Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum has emphasized on the need for managing the organization in the best way so as to attract tourists owing to the associated benefits. From the above, it can be concluded that economic benefits of arts have a major impact on the management of art. Political Issues Political issues are another set of factors which influence the management of art organizations. Analyzing the Asian political scenario, it can be acknowledged that the region is characterized by strict legislations which govern the way in which things are done in the region as compared to other regions in the world. For this reason, it can be acknowledged that legislations and policies are some of the key political issues which influence the management of art organizations (Henisz & Zelher 2010, p.1). Bearing in mind that legislative policies are made by politicians, it can be appreciated that politics has major role to play in the way in which art organizations are managed. Taking an example of contemporary art, it is worth noting that it is normally associated with borrowed trends from the global world. Additionally, contemporary art is associated with criticisms of the government and other aspects that are aimed at creating awareness to the public about specific issues. Due to the government policies in Japan, the Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum management is very selective on the pieces of contemporary art that it accepts as part of its collection. For this reason, it can be acknowledged that political policies and legislations have a major role to play in the management of arts organizations. The prevailing politics is a country is other issues which affect the management of arts. Generally, it can be acknowledged that politics influences the messages delivered through art are influenced by the politics in the national and global environment. Taking an example of such genres of art like music and theatre, it can be appreciated that they borrow heavily from the prevailing political environments. For this reason, music and movie producers and directors must take into consideration the political situation in specific environments before working on their pieces. On the other hand, institutions such as the Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum must take into account the impacts of politically inclined art pieces such as drawings, paintings and sculptures before they put them up for display. Additionally, museums are known to have contracted various artists to make pieces which give a reflection of the past of current political situations in their location such as the statue of liberty in USA, the Dedan Kimathi statue in Kenya and the Yasukuni shrine in Japan (Toress 2014, p.1). From the above discussion, it can be acknowledged that the prevailing politics have a key impact on the management of art. Lastly, political interest has an impact on the management of art. Under this point, it can be noted that politics has a major influence on every aspect of life in its region of influence. For this reason, it is expected that Japanese politics will have an influence on Japan. In the wake of increased need to conserve the culture and prevent it from dilution by foreign cultures, the need to manage and develop talents, the need of exploiting the art industry for economic gains and other issues pertinent to a society, the government comes up with purposed policies to govern the activities in a given industry (Hillman-Chartrand & McCaughey 1989, p.12). Therefore, such policies have an influence in the way art organizations are management. From the arguments above, it can be acknowledged that politics have an influence on arts management. Social Issues Art is highly associated with a specific society. From a general point of view, arts are often regarded to as being a part of a specific society. That is the reason behind such associations with societies such as Indian art, Chinese art, Japanese art and Thai art among others. For this reason, the society has a major role to play in the ownership of art. This explains why museums normally display many art pieces from the immediate society. The Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum has a wide range of art pieces from the Japanese community and the range broadens to the Asian art. The Asian society also played a major role in the establishment of the museum back then in 1999. As a result of this, the management of art must take into account the needs of the immediate society. Additionally, the changing social values have a significant impact on the management of art ( Morato 2003, p.247). On this point, it is important to draw attention to the fact that social values are part of a culture. In addition to this art is a ‘mirror’ of the society and its culture. For this reason the changing values of the society depict that there is a proportionate change in art; giving an allusion to need for art managers to adapt to the changes in the society so as to make their institutions relevant to their audience. This makes the management of contemporary arts a major factor to consider in the modern art based organizations. This explains the reason as to why the Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum takes a lot of focus on the management of contemporary art. Cultural Issues Lastly, culture is a major factor which influences the management of arts organizations. The ability of art managers to integrate in strategies to manage cultural factors increases the efficiency of a manager. As outlined above, art is a key aspect of culture (Tusa 1999, p.10). For this reason, art tends to represent the activities, values and beliefs in specific society. Taking an example of Asian art, it can be appreciated that the cave work showing hunters outlines the economic activities of traditional Asians, pottery also shows the economic activities and also the cooking habits of Asians, Kungfu and Taekwondo illustrates the fighting arts of Japanese and Chinese while the Great Wall of China shows the great architecture in ancient China. For this reason, the culture of a given society influences the message which if represented by art. In the light of this fact, it can be noted that the changing culture due to globalization is a major factor which is leading to changes in art (Aylett 2010, p.356). Modern art such as music, drama, painting and drawing are influenced highly by cultural changes. The development of new genres of art such as animation is also influenced by the changes in culture and other factors affecting the society (Sandoval 2010, p.22). From the arguments above, it can be acknowledged that culture is a major factor influencing the management of arts. Conclusion In conclusion, it can be acknowledged that arts management is influenced by economic, political, social and cultural issues. The essay has identified that art is a major part of the society and culture in which it originates from. It was seen in the essay that some of the economic factors that influence the management of arts includes funding, economic benefits and the global economy. It was seen that funding is an issues that influences the ability of an arts institution to pay its employees, collect and acquire a wide range of art pieces and pay its employees among other issues related to it. The global economy affects the cost of doing business and also the purchasing power of the clients which the economic benefits influence then activities done to exploit the financial benefits of the arts industry. Political issues which were identified to have an impact on art management include the prevailing politics, legislations and policies and purposed political intervention (Craik 2005, p. 8). Social issues which were noted to have an influence on art management include art being a part of a society and the changing social values. Lastly, the state of art being a part of culture and changes in culture were identified to be cultural issues influencing art management. The essay used the Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum and Asian art as reference case examples. References Aylett, H., 2010. An international instrument for international cultural policy: The challenge of UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression 2005” International Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 13, No. 4, pp.355 – 373 Carroll, N. 1988. Art, Practice and Narrative, The Monist, Vol. 71, No. 2, 140-156 Craik, J., 2005. Dilemmas in Policy Support for the Arts and Cultural Sector” Australian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 64, No. 4, pp. 6-19 Durmaz, B., Platt, S., & Yigitcanlar, T., 2010. Creativity, Culture Tourism And Place-Making: Istanbul And London Film Industries, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 4, No.: 3, pp.198 - 213 Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum, 2014. About FAAM, Fukuoka Asian Arts Museum, Retrieved on 1st April from http://faam.city.fukuoka.lg.jp/eng/about/abt_index.html Hillman-Chartrand, H & McCaughey, C., 1989. The arm’s length principle and the arts: an international perspective – past, present and future in Who pays for the arts?: the international search for models of arts support eds. Cummings, MC and Schuster, JMD, New York: ACA Books, pp.1 – 42 Henisz, W., & Zelher, B., 2010. The Hidden Risks in Emerging Markets, Harvard Business Review, Retrieved on 1st April from http://hbr.org/2010/04/the-hidden-risks-in-emerging-markets/ar/1 Morato, R., 2003.The Culture Society: A New Place for the Arts in the Twenty-First Century, Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society, Vol.32, No. 4, pp245 – 256 Rentschler, R., 2002. The entrepreneurial arts leader: cultural policy, change and reinvention, University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia, Qld Sandoval, C., 2010. For a critical perspective of the value of web art, Metaverse Creativity, Vol.1:No.1, pp.21-33 Strayhorn, C., 2006. The Arts Economy, Fiscal Notes, pp. 12-13 Sue, D., 2011. Economy and Arts and Culture in Christianson's List of Concerns, Quinte EMC, 14th April 2011. pp. 19 Toress, I., 2014. Tokyo Museum Tells Artist to Remove anti Yasukuni Shrine Sculpture, Retrieved on 1st April from http://japandailypress.com/tokyo-museum-tells-artist-to-remove-anti-yasukuni-shrine-sculpture-1944597/ Tusa, J. 1999. The Arts – Can We Do Without Them? From Art Matters: Reflecting On Culture, Chapter 1, pp. 7-23, London: Methuen Read More