Arts Nonprofits—Associations and Agencies: A Literature Review

Abstract

AbstractAn association is “a relatively formally structured nonprofit group that depends mainly on volunteer members for participation and activity and that primarily seeks member benefits, even if it may also seek some public benefits” (Smith, Stebbins, & Dover, 2006, p. 23). The arts that give birth to these organizations can be classified as either fine art or entertainment art. Every art association is embedded each in its own art world and its own social world. Members of these association are mostly amateurs or hobbyists in their art.Publications on arts-related amateur, hobbyist, professional, and mixed-member associations are reviewed. Their prime mission is to foster, present, and sometimes chronicle the art that its members prize. Many of these works report on the structure of the associations as well as on the recruitment, artistic development, deployment of artists, dissemination of their art, and retention of their members. Also reviewed is a selection of publications bearing on what could be called “arts consumption clubs,” or groups such as book clubs, dance clubs, and jazz clubs established to generate interest in a given art. Some of the publications reviewed center on associational management, use of volunteers, and financial base of the group.