The Artist Entrepreneur

SMSU Event Center BC

Couched in the space of the emergent “creative economy,” this research proposes to examine what connection, if any, exists between the artist and the (business) entrepreneur. It is interested in offering insights into what we term “artist entrepreneurs” – individuals who are driving innovation in the arts (e.g., graphic, textile, visual, music). We are explicitly seeking to develop a matrix for classifying artist entrepreneurs. The project includes both quantitative and qualitative methods. A survey utilizing existing psychometric scales will be developed and administered to individuals who self-identify as artists and/or as entrepreneurs. These scales will also allow us to segment individuals who are highly innovative. Depth interviews will be conducted with a subset of individuals from this last segment who exhibit highly innovative characteristics coupled with highly innovative creative output.