Research

Last update: 6/7/17

My research program is at the intersection of arts, entrepreneurship, cultural policy, and, separately, lighting design, each across the dimensions of theory, practice, and pedagogy. For information on my consulting practice, see http://creativeinfrastructure.net

Current projects:

An Ouroboros: Art, Money, and Entrepreneurial Action is a book of essays, currently in development.

“Value Creation of and Evaluation in Arts Incubators,” a qualitative cross-case analysis funded in part by a project grant from the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Article forthcoming in International Journal of Arts Management.

Recently published:

“Same or Different? The Development of ‘Arts Entrepreneurship’ Constructs in the US as Compared to ‘Cultural Entrepreneurship’ in Europe,”  Cultural Trends.

“Networking and Entrepreneurial Success: A Review of Literature” This brief review of literature examines the question “What is the relationship between networking and entrepreneurial success generally and for artists in particular?” The review also exposes a lacuna in the literature on artist professional development and career sustainability: while there is some small attention paid to networking and artist careers in the gray literature, there is very little empirical research on the relationship between networking and the career success of artists.Sponsored by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.

“Artist Professional Development Needs: Findings and Recommendations from a Survey of Artists and Organizations” This research seeks to uncover the professional development needs of working artists to create a body of knowledge from which resources can be developed for their use. Sponsored by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.

“Means and Ends: A Theory Framework for Understanding Entrepreneurship in the U.S. Arts and Culture Sector,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society.

“Should We Build It? Will They Come?” A review of Building for the Arts by Peter Frumkin and Ana Kolendo. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory

Other recent work:

“Lowering Barriers: Lessons Learned from US Arts Incubation Practices,” keynote presentation for the First Annual Creative Initiatives Conference, Tbilisi Georgia.

“How It’s Being Done: Arts Business Training in the U.S.,” a report coauthored with Mollie Flanagan, sponsored by the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation.

The Arizona Arts Entrepreneur Toolkit, sponsored by Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Women & Philanthropy program of the ASU Foundation.

“Designing and managing effective theatre internships,” panel presentation for USITT annual conference.

“Arts Incubators: A Typology,” Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society

“Failure is a Necessary Condition: Goals and Evaluation Metrics of University-based Arts Venture Incubators,” Entrepreneurship Research Journal

“Frameworks for Educating the Artist of the Future: Habits of Mind for Arts Entrepreneurship,” Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts

Lighting and the Design Idea, 3rd edition, co-authored with Jennifer Setlow.

“Slow and Fast Learning in the Digital Age,” Symposium Magazine

Complete CV can be downloaded here: Essig CV 17