Ten Functions of Arts Management

Arts Management encompasses an array of professional practices that support, connect, and sustain artistic expression and experience. These practices can be explored and understood as “functions” – bundles of sense-making and action-taking. The ArtsManaged Field Guide identifies ten such functions, clustered by their dominant focus: inward to the organization, outward to the world, or at the boundary between the two.

See the list below to find direct links to the ArtsManaged Field Guide and function-related posts in ArtsManaged Field Notes.

Inward-Facing Functions

• People Operations ( guide | notes )
  Designing and driving systems and practices that attract, engage, retain, and develop people within the enterprise.

• Finance ( guide | notes )
  Structuring, maintaining, and sustaining systems of money and stuff.

• Spaces & Systems ( guide | notes )
  Selecting, securing, stewarding, and harnessing the built environment and technological infrastructure.

Boundary Functions

• Program & Production ( guide | notes )
  Developing, assembling, presenting, and preserving coherent services or experiences.

• Accounting ( guide | notes )
  Recording, summarizing, analyzing, and reporting financial states and actions.

• Governance ( guide | notes )
  Structuring, sustaining, and overseeing the organization’s purposes, resources, and goals.

Outward-Facing Functions

• Sales ( guide | notes )
  Designing, deriving, and capturing inbound revenue from goods, services, or access.

• Gifts & Grants ( guide | notes )
  Attracting, securing, aligning, and retaining contributed resources.

• Hosting & Guesting ( guide | notes )
  Inviting and supporting people who enter your circle; honoring and listening in circles where you are a guest.

• Marketing ( guide | notes )
  Creating, communicating, and reinforcing expected or experienced value.