Economists as well as sociologists have an interest in how behavior is shaped by how resources are allocated in society. In recent years, a rapprochement between the disciplines is observable in some settings (education, journals), based on the understanding that also non-market forces (like social norms, identity and culture) shape decisions and economic outcomes. Where were the common ground between Cultural Economics and Cultural Sociology during the last ESA Conference?
The European Sociological Association (ESA) Conference, as one of the most important events for sociologists across Europe, brought together around 4.000 researchers, practitioners, and academics. Held in the beautiful city of Porto, Portugal, the 16th edition of the ESA conference was centered around the theme of “Trust, Tension, and Transformation.” These three interconnected topics provided a rich framework for exploring societal dynamics across a wide range of subjects, from environmental issues to digital transformation, and from gender studies to economic sociology.
Research Network: Sociology of Arts
The ESA Conference in August 2024 featured multiple sessions under the Research Network (RN02) titled “The Sociology of the Arts,” offering a platform for in-depth discussions on these intersections.
The topics explored within this field were diverse, ranging from gender dynamics in art practices to the influence of anti-racism and decolonial perspectives on the art world. Sessions like “Gender in Art Practices and Music” and “Critiques and Disruptions of Power in the Arts” underscored how the art world is shaped by, and contributes to, the broader societal structures that regulate gender and power relations. Another key session, “Sustainability in the Arts,” focused on how the ecological challenges of our time are impacting both the content of artistic work and the processes of its production. This interest is shared by cultural economists who are increasingly more concerned with the sustainability of cultural production and experiment with tools that assess it, such as benefit transfer studies, as presented by Aleksandra Wiśniewska, Andrea Baldin, Trine Bille, Bartosz Jusypenko, and Ewa Zawojska during ICCPR 2024.
Another key theme in cultural sociology as well as cultural economics is audiences. Sociologists typically refer to ‘participation’, and economists to ‘consumption’. During the ESA conference, the presenters focused on concepts of audience phenomenology, artefacts, and management deviating from paradigms of participation associated with only (non-) attendance and individual-level demographics as well as the mapping of effective engagement practices in museum, theatre and festival organisations. Cultural economists have provided explanations for cultural consumption for a long time. Recently, Paweł explained how the positive externalities of cultural goods increase the more they those goods are consumed, and Wojciech Hardy spoke about how attention budgets (referring to consumers’ available time and attention) determine consumption choices. Digital capital, as a recently coined determinant of museum participation (Stefano Russo, Bartosz , and Trilce Navarrete at AIMAC), was not (yet) a theme at the conference where the followers of Pierre Bourdieu shine new light on his work.
Matters regarding policy for artistic labour markets and artistic careers seem to be an ongoing research topic due to the multiple global crises affecting the cultural sectors. For this topic, presentations ranged from employment precarity and limited coping mechanisms for art workers in Greece, highlighting the fragile nature of artistic labor markets, to a supportive policy climate for music careers in Porto, Portugal, where effective cultural policies have been developed to foster growth and sustainability in the arts. Here, the conference could potentially benefit from a cultural economics angle which plays a crucial role in analyzing these issues, particularly by examining how economic conditions, new digital tools, market fluctuations, and government interventions shape the livelihoods of artists.
Another reoccurring topic was the effects of private support for the cultural sector, with the examples of as museums, exhibitions and the performative arts where curators are often confronted with a dual reality: the goals of the institution and the sponsors’ interests. Understanding how these dynamics vary across different regions and cultural contexts would be interesting for future research. Furthermore, drawing inspiration from recently published work by Chiara Dalle Nogare and Monika Murzyn-Kupisz (2024), one promising area for further research in this domain could be the impact of digitalization on the cultural sector. As highlighted by the case of corporate museums, their close interaction with parent firms may lead to higher levels of digital service provision, likely as a result of knowledge spillovers from the business world into the cultural domain. This suggests that private sponsorship might drive innovation in certain areas, particularly digital services, without necessarily enhancing other core cultural functions. The investigation of the spillover effect across different types of cultural institutions and geographical regions could provide a deeper understanding of how private sector practices influence the non-profit cultural sector, especially in the realm of technology and visitor engagement.
Cultural sociology in combination with cultural economics continues to offer a rich and dynamic lens for understanding society. However, the conversations sparked at this year’s ESA Conference also suggest exciting opportunities for further exploration, especially in the digital domain. For future conferences, expanding the focus to include topics such as the influence of digital art platforms, the influence of AI, the intersections between art and emerging technologies could provide even deeper insights. Diverse perspectives and innovative research at the above areas would undoubtedly enrich the dialogue, offering fresh pathways for understanding the evolving role of art in today’s rapidly changing world. It seems there’s still much more to explore.
About the author
Irene Tsitse is PhD candidate at Erasmus University Rotterdam, Department of Media and Communication
About the image
graphicrecording.cool im Auftrag von Wikimedia Deutschland e.V. In Absprache mit den Autorinnen sind vollumfänglich alle Nachverwertungsrechte geklärt und werden zur Verfügung gestellt., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
