Abstract
This research investigates tensions and commensurability among the values and practices of hospitality, entrepreneurialism, and sustainability in the cultural sector as represented by artists and other cultural workers. The origins of hospitality are in ancient cultural exchange, understood as a sacred duty. In contrast, hospitality today is considered one of the creative industries, especially where integrated with tourism. Given that “Commercialization of [cultural and artistic] goods,” according to UNESCO, is counted as key to defining creative industries, this study looks at motivations of artists and cultural workers through the lens of hospitality with implications for economic and cultural sustainability. An important question is whether culture provides the conditions for social and economic stability, or if social and economic stability are essential for sustaining culture. While much focus is on the economy of culture—associated with entrepreneurialism—researchers have also pointed to the way that creative industries and creative economy policies ignore important values. Bharucha (2010) notes the “web of intersecting concepts and practices” outside of the economic paradigm “which do not lend themselves to the imperatives of the global economy.” Part of a larger inquiry looking at culture, economy, and development through UNESCO cultural policies, this study combines recent research at cultural sites in the U.S. Southwest, with previous research on the cultural sustainability of non-dominant US populations, where art and cultural production are important economic activities. Interviews and surveys indicate that hospitality, in its more ancient sense, may be a stronger motivator for some populations than economic gain.
Presenters
Constance De VereauxDirector and Associate Professor, Media Studies/Arts Management, University at Buffalo, New York, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life
KEYWORDS
HOSPITALITY, CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY, CULTURE, ENTERPRENEURIALISM, CREATIVE INDUSTRIES, CULTURAL POLICY
