Abstract
Arts organizations are complex and exist in an industry with dynamics unlike any other. With a unique operational process, they face unique issues and challenges from the point they are conceived to the point they mature. More recently, both legacy organizations and newer organizations have been facing issues that are born out of a lack of audience engagement and community growth. Annual reports, literature, and governmental policies suggest that the organizations suffer from these issues due to not being able to update their programming with the changing times and becoming less differentiable. This research then proposes a Dynamism attribute—an organization's holistic sum of ability to develop unique programming and reinterpret the mission with respect to the organization’s culture, talent, and resources. This acts as an organizational characteristic and a significant deterrent in developing unique programming which dictates the audience and community engagement. A further proposal is made where dynamism attributes can be integrated—or engineered—into organizations that lack the attribute through special projects—the endeavors that are taken by an arts organization to develop avenues or build a foundation for an organizational change to deliver the mission differently.
Bio
Polen Light is a fourth-year student Studying Specialist program in Arts Management, and a double minor in Studio Art and Culture, Creativity, and Cities. He has also taken on various leadership roles within ACM, the latest being the Director of the student-run Gallery 1265.