Table Of Content“Dr. White is a brilliant theorist with a tenacious desire to make
theory applicable and effective when put into action. Readers will
find this to be supremely true in his book Innovation in the Arts:
Concepts, Theories and Practices. For those looking for guidance
on how to understand and implement innovation in the context of
the arts, this book is an indispensable guide and an essential
resource.”
Jonathan Gangi, The Pennsylvania State University, USA
“Dr. Jason C. White’s Innovation in the Arts: Theories, Concepts,
and Practices is a welcomed and significant contribution. Not only
does the book build linguistic consensus previously lacking in the
arts entrepreneurship literature around key terms, but it theorizes
key processes necessary for the discipline’s future advancement
and success.”
Antonio C. Cuyler, Florida State University, USA
“This is a very much-needed book for arts entrepreneurship
scholars and those interested in becoming arts entrepreneurs.
This book lays the groundwork for advancing arts entrepreneur-
ship theories by clarifying the most fundamental concepts and
early theoretical endeavors in this field. Moreover, this book offers
critical resources and perspectives to inspire conversations on
research and practices that advocate for artists and arts entrepre-
neurs of color.”
Wen Guo, Elon University, USA
“Art is always changing and consistently never the same. Dr. Jason C.
White reminds us of something important: that in addition to
innovation prescribed in standardized conventions from the top,
downward in business management, White shows that innovation
also springs fresh from the unique practices of artists and arts
administrators.”
Clayton Funk, Ohio State University, USA
Innovation in the Arts
This concise guide aims to increase what we understand by innovation
in the arts and identify and support opportunities and strategies for the
unique ways in which artists and arts administrators think about,
engage in, and pursue successful innovation in their diverse creative
practice.
Innovations in the Arts are often marginalised from a research
perspective, in part because of the lack of a sound and compelling
theoretical framework to support and explain process distinctions
from business and management innovation. This book identifies three
key concepts – art innovation, art movement innovation, and audience
experience innovation – supported by formal theory for each concept
presented and evidenced through case studies in art history. In this
way, the book enables readers to identify, explain, and support their
innovation efforts as visual, literary, and performing artists and arts
administrators. It also explores strategies for pursuing innovation in
practice.
Drawing attention to the unique ways in which artists and arts
administrators think about and engage in innovation, this readable
book will be an essential reading for students in all aspects of the
creative and cultural industries and an essential guide to developing
and promoting innovation in the arts for practitioners and researchers
alike.
Dr. Jason C. White is an Assistant Professor and the Director of the
Arts Administration program in the Department of Art at Xavier
University, USA, where he prepares students for diverse careers in arts
management and administration.
Routledge Focus on the Global Creative Economy
Series Editor: Aleksandar Brkić
Goldsmiths, University of London, UK
This innovative short-form book series aims to provoke and inspire new
ways of thinking, new interpretations, emerging research, and insights
from different fields. In rethinking the relationship between creative
economies and societies beyond the traditional frameworks, the series is
intentionally inclusive. Featuring diverse voices from around the world,
books in the series bridge scholarship and practice across arts and cultural
management, the creative industries, and the global creative economy.
Innovation in the Arts
Concepts, Theories, and Practices
Jason C. White
Innovation in the Arts
Concepts, Theories, and
Practices
Jason C. White
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an
informa business
© 2023 Jason C. White
The right of Jason C. White to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be
trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British
Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: White, Jason C., 1982- author.
Title: Innovation in the arts : concepts, theories, and practices /
Jason C. White.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon : Routledge, [2023] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022017226 (print) | LCCN 2022017227
(ebook) | ISBN 9780367688776 (hardback) | ISBN
9780367695859 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003142393 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.) |
Artists‐‐Psychology. | Arts administrators‐‐Psychology. |
Creative thinking. | Organizational change.
Classification: LCC NX160 .W49 2023 (print) | LCC NX160
(ebook) | DDC 700.1/9‐‐dc23/eng/20220621
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022017226
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022017227
ISBN: 978-0-367-68877-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-69585-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-14239-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003142393
Typeset in Times New Roman
by MPS Limited, Dehradun
Contents
About the Author x
Acknowledgments xi
1 Introduction 1
The purpose of this book 1
The need for this book 1
Components of a theory 2
How are theories developed? 3
Toward formal theory development 4
The need for mutual understanding 5
References 7
2 Key Terms for Mutual Understanding 9
Defining art history and the arts 9
Defining art worlds and their guiding conventions 10
Defining arts-based products 11
Differentiating between arts and non-arts-based
products 12
Defining innovation 12
Differences between innovation and invention 14
Defining diffusion 15
Defining adoption 15
Innovation and innovators: Selected definitions 16
Conclusions: So what is innovation in the arts? 16
References 19
viii Contents
3 A Theory of Art Innovation 22
Theory 22
Theoretical framework 22
Where do new art forms come from? 23
Who are the art innovators? 25
What are the known risks of pursuing art innovation? 25
Who legitimises new art forms? 26
What is the process of creating a new art form? 29
Diffusing the art innovation 30
Known strategies for speeding up the rate of
endorsement 31
Conclusion: So what does success look like? 33
Case studies of art innovation 33
References 41
4 A Theory of Art Movement Innovation 44
Theory 44
Theoretical framework 44
What are the benefits of joining art movements? 45
What is the role of the guiding ideology? 46
It has to be compelling or inspiring! 47
Diffusing the guiding ideology for an art movement 49
One common strategy for diffusion 49
Increasing the rate of acceptance 50
Delaying the inevitable 51
Conclusion: What does success look like? 52
Case studies of art movement innovation 53
References 61
5 A Theory of Audience Experience Innovation 63
Theory 63
Theoretical framework 63
The type of experiences arts audiences desire 64
Considering the relationship between the perception of
art and esthetic experience 64
Designing and structuring arts experiences that trigger
esthetic experience 66
Developing a new audience experience design 69
Contents ix
Diffusing the new audience experience design 70
Navigating resistance to integration 71
The integration process for a presenting arts
organisation 71
Conclusion: So what does success look like? 73
Case studies of audience experience innovation 73
References 79
6 Conclusions and Suggested Directions 81
Implications for innovation research 81
Implications for entrepreneurship education 83
Call to action 84
Index 85
