Arts Administration, Arts Management, and Cultural Policy : Assemblage, Structure, and Maturity of the U.S. Field

This book examines the U.S. field of arts administration, management, and cultural policy at the 50th anniversary of Social Theory, Politics & the Arts (STP&A). It explores how researchers and practitioners have shaped understanding of the arts sector, offering insights into the field's evolution and maturity.

Arts Administration, Arts Management, and Cultural Policy: Assemblage Structure and Maturity of the U.S Field examines the intentional and incidental interweaving of histories, theories, and practices that comprise the U.S. field of arts administration, arts management, and cultural policy. In a national context where there is no central cultural ministry and where the market is meant to facilitate and generate the cultural sector, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers have worked to make sense of the arts sector, how to manage it, and to understand its impact on society. This book takes stock of the maturity of arts management and cultural policy research as “a field” at the significant milestone of the fiftieth research convening of Social Theory, Politics and the Arts (STP&A), the longest running and most prominent convening amongst the international research networks and communities in this field. Readers of this book will gain a reflexive understanding of the evolution and maturing of the interdisciplinary social scientific research field focused on arts, artists, and the systems within which they exist and operate in relation to shaping and evaluating public policy and systemic decision-making, with a focus on the United States.