Education for Entrepreneurial Necessity: The Case of Fine and Visual Artists
9 Pages Posted: 6 Oct 2014
Date Written: October 6, 2014
Abstract
Entrepreneurs are often categorized as either necessity-based or opportunity-driven. We contend that while individuals may exhibit a blend of these characteristics, certain fields exhibit career-contextualized entrepreneurial necessity, which we define as “the need to engage in entrepreneurial action that arises from an individual’s desire to work within the field in which they were trained and/or are gifted.” The arts provides one such case. Studies indicate that in the fine and visual arts entrepreneurial activity is high, but arts students’ interest in and ability to prepare for this is low. This paper addresses key issues in educating arts students, who may not inherently identify with nor initially set out on an entrepreneurial path, but find that their field requires it. We propose content and pedagogy for a course intended to be taken by fine arts students at either the undergraduate or graduate level. The course addresses the core elements of entrepreneurship likely to be experienced by artists in their careers. We specifically decline to include routine business tools and methods.
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