Arts Professionals Research Articles

Digital and AI transformation in the contemporary art industry in China

This study examines the digital and artificial intelligence (AI) transformation in the contemporary art industry in China. This industry in China is undergoing a distinct digital transition and is “ahead” of other countries, having fully integrated digital technologies and AI (digiAI) into policies, regulations, organizations, and professional practices. A systematic, large-scale national integration of digiAI has led to its widespread adoption by artists and arts professionals. However, little is known about how or when this rapid and extensive integration and subsequent adoption occurred or about its impacts on professional practices. This study draws on research conducted between 2023 and 2024, including 30 interviews with contemporary Chinese visual artists, 23 interviews with arts professionals, a survey of 110 professional contemporary visual artists, and a systematic review of government policy. Findings indicate that the government began integrating digital technology into the contemporary art industry in 2016, further promoted digital technology integration in 2021, and introduced regulations to support AI usage in 2023. The data reveal a significant spike in the adoption of digital technologies by professionals between 2019 and 2020, followed by a rise in AI adoption in 2023. DigiAI has been accepted and now used across different kinds of arts professions, various types of visual artists, and several age groups. Digital and AI tools are now being applied in both creative and non-creative aspects of arts practices.

Research on the Reform of Liberal Arts Education in Colleges and Universities Based on OBE Concept

This study is based on the Outcome-Based Education (OBE) concept and aims to explore effective ways to reform liberal arts education in colleges and universities. By analyzing the emphasis of the OBE concept on students' learning outcomes and practical ability cultivation, the researchers proposed a series of educational reform strategies guided by the OBE concept. These strategies include practice-oriented teaching methods, the establishment of a comprehensive assessment system, and encouraging interdisciplinary and interprofessional integration. The study conducted an in-depth analysis of how these strategies can promote the cultivation of students' comprehensive literacy, stimulate innovative thinking, improve practical application abilities, and conduct a comprehensive discussion on the training model of liberal arts professionals.

Pluriversal scenographics and staging world feelings: climate crisis in SUPERFLEX’s ‘It Is Not The End Of The World’

This article investigates the role of scenographics in staging climate crisis cultures. The art collective SUPERFLEX’s installation It Is Not The End Of The World (Copenhagen 2019) explored human-world relations through techniques of set design, lighting, sound and costume. Central to this was a detailed 1-to-1 scale replica of the UN Building toilets re-imagined as an archaeology of a future without humans. While described as an ‘installation’, It Is Not. . . is adopted as a case study that exemplifies the role of scenographics in irritating a sense of place and is argued as affording insight into the assemblages of place, world and atmosphere. Drawing upon Global South philosopher Arturo Escobar’s ‘pluriversal design’, I offer an argument for scenographics as a methodology when investigating world feelings in an era of climate crisis. ‘Pluriversal scenographics’ is proposed as a critical framework for the staging of nondualistic, relational and more-than-human ‘possible reals’. Pluriversal concepts are proposed as a model for renewing the political purpose of scenographic practice as a methodology for investigating world feelings. I conclude with a call for a renewed political task of scenography and the value of this perspective for theatre makers, arts professionals and cultural geographers.

Digital art work and AI: a new paradigm for work in the contemporary art sector in China

This paper explores a paradigm shift in work culture in the contemporary art sector due to digital transition and the introduction of AI. New ways of working with AI and digital software are embedded and normalized in everyday Chinese artistic practices. This work includes new forms of creativity and efficiency, yet, simultaneously includes new types of digital labour. This paper conceptualizes this as “digital art work,” which draws attention to the often-overlooked aspects of artists’ work, particularly their everyday artistic practices that increasingly include digital software and AI. What is the role and position of the artist in an environment where digital software and AI are becoming more central in artistic creation? How do artists creatively (mis)use AI? What does this paradigm shift in work culture mean for the future of the artist’s role and the future of the contemporary art sector? This paper draws on 48 semi-structured interviews with visual artists and arts professionals, including painters, sculptors, mixed-media, and internet artists as well as contemporary art gallery owners, museum project directors, curators, and culture policymakers living and working in China during 2023. The findings show how Chinese artists are mastering AI and opening up new spaces for creativity and how the contemporary art sector in China has already transitioned to a new “digital way” in artistic creation. These findings can help to create policy around AI globally and provide solutions for the sustainability of the artist profession and the future of the contemporary art sector.

The HEartS Professional Model: A conceptual model for arts professionals' work and wellbeing

In recent years there has been a surge of research on arts professionals' livelihoods, with particular focus on experiences of work and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, using the HEartS Professional multi-strategy survey, we collected data in three phases in the United Kingdom (UK): initially during the first national lockdown (Phase 1, April–June 2020; Spiro, Perkins et al., 2021), and then annually for two years; Phase 2 (April–May 2021; Spiro, Shaughnessy et al., 2023), and Phase 3 (May–July 2022). In this article, we focus on Phase 3. Our first goal is to explore which factors are important in the context of mental and social wellbeing (measured using the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the 15-item Social Connectedness Scale-Revised, and the Three-Item Loneliness Scale). Our second goal is to consider how work and wellbeing are associated with job satisfaction. Physical activity, social activity, financial stability, and health are significantly associated with mental and social wellbeing for the 564 professional artists in the UK who responded to our survey, and there are links between mental wellbeing and job satisfaction. As the creative industries emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and tackle ongoing challenges, a longer-term approach in this area is needed: one that allows a more holistic understanding of the contributors to arts professionals' work and wellbeing. Informed by the data collected in Phases 1 to 3, where we see consistent trends, we propose a conceptual model – the HEartS Professional Model – for understanding the drivers that are associated with arts professionals' wellbeing and job satisfaction. Within this model, the variables can be seen as part of wider domains: broad thematic groups including community (including perceived social connection and living situation), healthy living (including self-rated health and physical activity), finance (including financial hardship and household income), and demographics (including gender and age). The HEartS Professional Model has the potential to inform development of support, policy, and infrastructure in the creative industries that are fit for purpose and respond to creative professionals’ needs. Furthermore, it has the potential to be the basis for the long-term tracking and understanding of work, wellbeing, and job-satisfaction in the arts.

Mobile Marketing in the Art Industry

The rising prevalence of mobile devices has transformed consumer behaviors and created new opportunities for audience engagement through mobile marketing in the art world. However, there has been limited research on implementing effective mobile strategies for art professionals. This study aimed to systematically review mobile techniques over the past five years based on academic literature and industry reports. It analyzed key mobile marketing campaigns from prominent art institutions focusing on approaches like apps, augmented reality, and location-based services. The literature revealed several important findings about mobile marketing effectiveness. According to Pew Research Center data from 2019, 81% of Americans now own smartphones frequently used for internet access, demonstrating widespread mobile access. Studies of apps found those displaying artist portfolios and enabling ticket purchases had high audience engagement. Augmented reality apps providing interactive experiences attracted more first-time museum visitors than non-users. Location services increased nearby gallery foot traffic up to 35% by capitalizing on proximity. Case studies indicate mobile strategies can significantly boost participation when integrated across digital and physical channels through profiles, ticketing, content, and location promotion to spur visits. As a result, mobile technologies may help arts institutions connect with broader demographics in novel ways. However, usability and data privacy must be addressed. The review concluded that mobile techniques are highly impactful for boosting audience involvement, working best as an omni-channel approach across platforms and interactivity. Adopting established mobile marketing best practices is essential for arts professionals and organizations to thrive in today’s digital landscape and engage wider audiences.

Modelling arts professionals' wellbeing and career intentions within the context of COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial effect on the creative and cultural industries in the United Kingdom (UK), as seen in our first snapshot of the HEartS Professional Survey (April-June 2020, Phase 1, N = 358). By analysing data collected one year later (April-May 2021, Phase 2, N = 685), the aims of the current study are to trace the contributors to (1) arts professionals' mental and social wellbeing and (2) their expectations of staying in the arts. Findings show that artists continued to experience challenges in terms of finances, and mental and social wellbeing. Over half of the respondents reported financial hardship (59%), and over two thirds reported being lonelier (64%) and having increased anxiety (71%) than before the pandemic. Hierarchical multiple linear regression models, using the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, Social Connectedness Scale, and Three-Item Loneliness Scale as outcome variables, indicate that perceived financial hardship continued to be associated with higher depression and loneliness scores. As in our first study, more physical activity before lockdown was associated with higher wellbeing and social connectedness scores, and higher self-rated health scores were associated with higher wellbeing and lower depression scores. Similarly, increases in physical activity during lockdown, as well as older age, were still associated with higher wellbeing and social connectedness scores and with lower depression and loneliness scores. An ordinal logistic regression model indicated three contributors to artists' professional expectations of remaining in the arts: greater proportion of income from the arts pre-pandemic, continued maintenance of skills, and greater proportion of freelance work. The results suggest that the wellbeing patterns observed at the start of the pandemic remained consistent a year on. They point to possible strategies to support wellbeing and underline the importance of finances for expectations of remaining in arts professions.

Transformative Repair x ADC: Visual Analysis of Works

This visual essay evidences how visual arts professionals from art, craft, and design disciplines are able to transform broken and waste materials in ways that are complementary, but not usual, to their current professional practice. Photos, sketches, and technical drawings illustrate a collection of case studies concerning the transformative repair and reuse of a range of categories, including furniture, homeware, model airplanes, clothes, tools, and vehicles. The article concludes that this collection of works contributes knowledge to creative forms of repair and reuse as an underdeveloped and under-researched practice within circular design and economy.

The didactic treatment of Carlos Enriquez's work in art education and his aesthetic vision

The article addresses some of the characteristics linked to the significance of "what is Cuban" in the visual arts, as part of the aesthetic problems and the existence of a Cuban art that has been a subject widely discussed. From these keys we recognize the figure of Carlos Enríquez to characterize his personality and work from a vision of his criollismo as part of the Cuban nationality and identity, and the dynamics of some of these elements to be taken into account in a didactics by arts professionals in defense of cultural identity.

It could have been different. The cultural and creative sector in transformation from the perspective of arts professionals in the Sorbian ethnic minority

ABSTRACT The political system change in Germany in 1989/90 also led to fundamental changes in the cultural and creative sector. As a result of the shift from a planned to a free market economy, the number of freelance cultural workers increased significantly. This article discusses how the transformation of the cultural and creative sector affected the ethnic minority of the Sorbs in Germany. The particular challenge here is how the actors balance their everyday life and participation in cultural practices on the one hand, and a commodification of what is considered cultural heritage on the other. Using the example of the freelance Sorbian composer Juro Mětšk (*1954 † 2022), the project explores the questions of what effects the all-encompassing social changes had on the activities and products of cultural workers, when and why they decided to work freelance and to what extent being Sorbian became a determinant for their work. In addition to Juro Mětšk’s written testimonies, this paper is also based on the analysis of a detailed interview on this topic conducted by the author in 2021.

Work and Wellbeing among Arts Professionals in China during COVID-19 (August 2020 and October 2021)

This article explores the characteristics of arts professionals’ work and health during the COVID-19 pandemic in China and how these relate to measures of mental and social wellbeing. Findings from two separate samples of arts professionals (Phase 1: August 2020, N = 500; Phase 2: October 2021, N = 500) using the HEartS Professional: China survey suggest that approximately half of the respondents experienced financial hardship as a result of the pandemic (58%, phase 2), were more anxious (47%, phase 2), and lonelier (43%, phase 2) than before. In regression models, better self-rated health was associated with higher mental health and social connectedness scores and lower depression and loneliness scores in both phases. More physical activity during the last month was associated with higher mental health and social connectedness in at least one phase. While rates of anxiety and loneliness were lower than in an earlier HEartS Professional Survey in the United Kingdom, some associations in the regression models, such as for health and physical activity during the last month, were similar. Longitudinal and international research on work, wellbeing, and retention of arts professionals is important for public policy and understanding variability across social and cultural contexts and systems.

Theoretical Research on the Training Mode of Fashion Design Talents Under the Background of Internet +

Theoretical research on the training mode of fashion design talents under the background of Internet + is studied in the paper. Fashion design and engineering majors should integrate production and education with regional clothing enterprises, adopt part-time jobs and mutual employment, and establish a double-qualified teacher team under the scenario of the Internet +. We should promote open interaction of discipline construction and cross-fertilization of talent cultivation. Promote the sharing and optimal integration of resources across departments, disciplines and specialties, and cultivate new liberal arts professionals with interdisciplinary thinking and the ability to solve complex problems. Then, the suggestions are provided and in the future, the applications will be considered.

The UAZ in the University Network of Arts, RUA (Red Universitaria de Artes): presence and development perspectives

The University Network of Arts was created in Havana, (2014) to promote cooperation among university arts instructors and to improve artistic quality and its academic specificity (University Network of Arts [RUA], 2014). Since its inception, the network has been formed by university students and arts professionals who have represented dozens of institutions in America, Africa and Europe. The UAZ, based on the Academic Collaboration Framework Agreement (Convenio Marco de Colaboración Académica) signed with the Higher Institute of Arts of the Republic of Cuba (Instituto Superior de Artes de la República de Cuba) (2011), became a founding member, through various Academic Groups. The UAZ-CA 219 “Music and interdisciplinarity”, formed by the authors of this article, has actively taken part in meetings of the RUA, contributing proposals for its expansion and consolidation. Despite this, the results are rarely communicated. In this sense, this work has as its main objective to spread the importance of the University Network of Arts, RUA and disclose some ideas about its possible development perspectives, increasing the participation of the UAZ, from its institutional Academic Groups focused on art, culture and sustainable development, and its capacity for social and inter-institutional bonding.

More Than Meets the Eye: Art Engages the Social Brain.

Here we present the viewpoint that art essentially engages the social brain, by demonstrating how art processing maps onto the social brain connectome—the most comprehensive diagram of the neural dynamics that regulate human social cognition to date. We start with a brief history of the rise of neuroaesthetics as the scientific study of art perception and appreciation, in relation to developments in contemporary art practice and theory during the same period. Building further on a growing awareness of the importance of social context in art production and appreciation, we then set out how art engages the social brain and outline candidate components of the “artistic brain connectome.” We explain how our functional model for art as a social brain phenomenon may operate when engaging with artworks. We call for closer collaborations between the burgeoning field of neuroaesthetics and arts professionals, cultural institutions and diverse audiences in order to fully delineate and contextualize this model. Complementary to the unquestionable value of art for art’s sake, we argue that its neural grounding in the social brain raises important practical implications for mental health, and the care of people living with dementia and other neurological conditions.

Creativity, health and wellbeing: challenges of research and evidence

Creativity, health and wellbeing (CHW) has emerged as a multidisciplinary field of research, policy and practice over the last 20 years. Its beginnings can be traced from the establishment of art therapies in the post war period and from the growth of community arts in the 1960s, which fostered connections between arts professionals, researchers, educators and policy advocates seeking to respond to local challenges (White, 2009). Subsequently the CHW field has grown through evidence building, advocacy and sector development and there is now a wider recognition of the contribution of arts and cultural engagement to a wide range of policy objectives. For example, policies such as social prescribing view arts spaces, activities and resources as community assets that can be used to improve health, to support people living with long-term conditions and to reduce pressure on health services. Nevertheless, the successful integration of arts and creativity into policy and practice is some way off, partly because of ongoing theoretical, methodological and political challenges (Daykin, 2020).

“Knowing That I’m Not Necessarily Alone in My Struggles”: UK Autistic Performing Arts Professionals’ Experiences of a Mentoring Programme

This research examined whether professional mentoring could have a positive effect on the occupational self-efficacy of autistic performing arts professionals. We compared the outcomes of one group who received mentoring to a waitlist control group. 26 participants took part in this study: 15 autistic mentees and 11 mentors, three of whom were also autistic. The mentoring programme was well received and felt to be beneficial by the participating mentees and mentors, particularly regarding gains in mentees’ occupational self-efficacy. Professional mentoring also addressed several work-oriented challenges identified by autistic performing arts professionals such as feelings of isolation in the industry and need for consultation and advice on both a professional level, and for mentees with autistic mentors, also a neurodivergent one.

Research on the influence of fuzzy mathematics simulation model in the development of Wushu market

Abstract The paper adopts research methods such as literature data method, expert interview method and mathematical statistics method, and uses fuzzy mathematics theory to make a quantitative comprehensive evaluation of related data of martial arts industry. The research conclusions obtained are as follows. The shortcomings of the martial arts industry in the process of marketisation are: (1) lack of human resources; (2) local enthusiasm for investing in the martial arts industry is not high; (3) related industries and platforms that can be used are less. Suggestions to address these are: (1) improve the popularity and influence of martial arts products; (2) formulate relevant policies and regulations to guide the development direction of the martial arts industry; (3) strengthen cooperation with the media, cultivate and package high-level martial arts professionals and establish a martial arts brand image.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in Uncertain Times: Insights from the Italian Actors’ Response to the COVID-19 Crisis

This paper investigates the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) experiences of performing arts professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. The research is aimed at examining actors’ approaches and challenges to inform current and future CPD strategies, better suited to address the uncertainties of the social and economic juncture. The following four main themes are elicited by the research: the renewed need for self-directedness in CPD, the struggle to overcome the decrease in CPD opportunities in the workplace environment, the intensification of the use of social media for CPD purposes, and the role of CPD in the diversification of competencies. The investigation shows that CPD is still a relatively underdeveloped subject in the performing arts sector and that the attitudes towards, environments of, platforms for and focus on CPD will benefit from a critical re-evaluation in the postdigital context. Implications of these results for practitioners, policymakers, and public and private organisations are discussed.

Activity Groups as Mental Health Interventions for Creative Arts Professionals

ABSTRACT Individuals whose career is within creative arts have higher rates of mental health diagnoses as compared to other professionals. We discuss the development of a novel program, the results of a quasi-experimental pilot survey of participants, and implications for practice and future research. Care for Creatives (CFC) operated from 2018 to 2020 to address community mental health of creative arts professionals. CFC collected pilot survey data from participants and included weekly drop-in social mixers featuring various healing service stations. The event paired with a structured open group featuring activities in yoga, somatic activities, and movement (MOV), expressive arts modalities (EA), and meditative relaxation practices (MED) with facilitated reflective sharing. Pre and post session data were collected from a convenience sample (n = 224). Results were statistically significant for positive change in all domains measured: subjective wellbeing (SWB), gratitude (GT), hope (HP), and social connection (SC). Results indicate that CFC successfully improved mental health indicators.

Build Your Own Body Mod: Empowerment through Prototyping and Design

When you don’t have a hand, what could you have instead? This article introduces the impact of inviting youth with disabilities to learn tools and technology to design their own solutions and advocate for their own future. This approach to programming is rooted in a mindset of designing WITH, not FOR. Not only are design outcomes improved when users are incorporated into the process, but this approach has been shown to improve confidence in creating one’s own solutions. These programs include hands-on “design-your-own-body-mod” workshops, as well as a budding inclusive design consultancy led by youth with disabilities. Through this programming, youth not only develop technical and cutting edge skills, confidence, and meaningful solutions, but they also develop a clearer understanding of design and engineering career paths and establish their own network of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) professionals.