The Museum of Old and New Art: Leveraging entrepreneurial marketing to create a unique arts and vacation venture.

Entrepreneurial marketing is used to understand new venture creation in the vacation tourism sector through a case study of private art museum in Tasmania that has become a tourist destination of major international significance. The Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) has emerged as a major driver of tourism in the region. Interrogation of the arts and cultural tourism literature sets up a key research proposition – in arts and cultural tourism, the unique artistic tastes of the entrepreneur often trump customer needs and preferences by shaping the visitor’s experience through creative artistic innovation. The findings support our proposition, with additional grounding through the impact of the owner/ manager and associated entrepreneurial marketing and effectuation impacts

Conceptualising the symbolic product: an arts and cultural marketing imperative

he purpose of this paper is to critique existing understanding of the nature of product within the arts and cultural setting, thereby identifying gaps in knowledge regarding ‘product’ in this context. We then develop a reconceptualisation of the product notion, accounting for its symbolic value to society as a whole. We critically review the relevant literature and generate a conceptual model of the symbolic value inherent to an ‘arts and cultural product’. We then set out an agenda for research in the field, i.e. a framework for interviewing established artists to assess their reactions and affinity to our conceptualisation of symbolic product value. Results from the literature review, and our specialist knowledge of the arts and cultural sector, have resulted in the construction of an arts and culture product model which accounts for its tangible, intangible and symbolic dimensions. Our conceptual model can assist cultural producers (e.g. artists) to engage with marketing. Experience tells us that cultural producers often have little or no training in marketing. Addressing our proposed research agenda (which accounts for specific industry practices and philosophies) will enhance engagement with ideas about the product notion and marketing more generally

Exploring Supply Side Network Interactions in the Visual Art Production Process

This paper presents an analysis of the supply-side of the arts market with a focus on how the actors therein interact as a network in the art production process. Through the adoption of a qualitative semi-structured interview methodology, the paper provides insight into how professional and established visual artists (in conjunction with third-party support) conceptualise, produce and distribute their art works in the art market. Results indicate that the art product and the art production process is reliant on a range of mutually beneficial and reciprocal interactions that serve as bases for value creation in the art market. The paper concludes with a range of research opportunities for both academics and practitioners in the arts marketing context

Visitor motivations in arts and cultural organisations: A regional context

Although research into arts and cultural production and consumption is increasing, there remains a lack of empirical knowledge about visitors’ motivation to visit museums in regional locations. We utilise a visitor survey to assess the motivations for consuming cultural experiences at the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG), a regional museum in Launceston, Tasmania. The results of this study both conformed to and deviated somewhat from extant research across the areas of ‘cultural involvement’ and ‘motivation’, which has important implications for marketing management and strategy development in regional contexts

Art collecting as consumption and entrepreneurial marketing as strategy

Purpose: We adopt a biographical methodology to investigate how a privately funded art museum has risen to become a key visitor destination on the island of Tasmania, Australia. Design/methodology/approach We utilise both entrepreneurship and consumption as collecting lenses to gain insight into the success of a new arts venture. In addition to biographical methodology we utilise in-depth interviews and participant observation. Findings Our analysis shows what can be achieved when alternative paths to creativity and innovation are pursued. The creativity inherent in such actions does not necessarily have to be substantial. Sometimes incremental approaches to achieving something different from the norm are sufficient. Originality There are only a limited number of papers on entrepreneurship and consumption in the arts and this research adds to knowledge in the area. Research implications Implications include the continued merits of adopting a biographical approach to uncovering longitudinal insight into interlinking entrepreneurship and consumption practices. This approach enables key impacting events over time to be identified as they impact on the direction taken by the art entrepreneur. Practical implications There is growing evidence that administrative approaches to arts governance are limiting in their effectiveness. This paper addresses the call to be more entrepreneurial in arts governance practices

Motivations for consuming art and cultural experiences: Report to industry

The cultural heritage sector (e.g., museums, art galleries, historic buildings, cultural community festivals and events, etc.) has emerged as an increasingly significant segment of national and regional economies. The sector is now considered an important driver of economic and social development, particularly through cultural tourism. As a result, regional cultural organisations are at a critical time in their history, where they need to adapt to changes in visitor use and community trends, e.g. with respect to changes in what we do with our leisure time. In addition, the income streams from local-council and state funded regional bodies has significantly decreased. All of us in the research team have worked on projects that centre on the arts and cultural sectors, with research investigating marketing, development, management, and cultural tourism issues, and incorporating engagement with both private and public museums. We had previously worked with the Director of the Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery (QVMAG), Richard Mulvaney, on an application for funding for another project, currently being reworked for submission later in 2016. While we were conducting a debrief on that application the idea that the Tourism Research and Education Network (TRENd) might offer the chance for not for profit organisations to become Inkind Research Partners surfaced. The result was an agreement to continue our research partnership, under the auspices of TRENd, and focusing on one aspect of our original, larger project: an aspect that also had considerable practical implications for the sustainability of not for profit museums, that is, what motivates museum visitation? Certainly there has been considerable work done on visitor studies, by both academics and museums themselves. While these studies are valid in an academic sense, and obviously of use to museums, they have tended to ignore what comes before the actual visit. However, even studies on why visitors visit have had a narrow focus. As Slater (2007) has noted: Whilst market research and academic studies by sociologists have identified the personal and socio-cultural factors that influence visits to galleries, there has been less attention to the area of motivational research. Understanding motivations is important as it reveals the underlying reasons why visitors choose to participate in specific leisure activities. (Slater, 2007, p. 149) Our project seeks to shed some light on this issue with a detailed academic study on motivations for consuming art and cultural experiences. The results of which we feel will provide a research knowledge base that can be used to expand audiences and increase social and economic impacts, which is vital if regional museums and arts galleries are to have a sustainable future. While it is our intention to publish our findings in academic journals and conference papers, and to seek to add to the body of knowledge around motivation, marketing and museum management research, we are also committed to disseminating our findings directly to the museum sector, as well as to the wider tourism, arts and cultural sectors. Our aim with this Report to Industry is to do just that. We offer practical insight, supported by robust academic research

Defining the Art Product: A Network Perspective

Purpose: This paper explores the nature of art as a product through a network perspective, accounting for key contributing stakeholders in shaping its essence. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted a qualitative data collection and analysis design, and centred on a series of face to face interviews with established Australian visual artists. Findings: Results support the notion of an art product shaped by interconnections and interdependencies of actors in the art market. In particular, attention is paid to the roles of actors in conceptual, production and distribution networks. Research limitations/implications: Although there are idiosyncrasies that (in part) define the Australian art market context, the issues identified here are nonetheless useful in determining the nature of the interconnectedness of the art market in other similar Western contexts. Many Australian artists have achieved similar recognition and status to other established artists elsewhere. Future cross-cultural comparative research should be carried out in order to assess this relationship in the longer term. Practical implications: Our research provides artists and other art market stakeholders with a finer-grained understanding of the art product which will allow a more focussed approach to developing relevant strategies and tactics for the creation and marketing of art products. Originality/value: Although philosophical assessments of art as a product have been carried out elsewhere, there is a lack of evaluation from an artist perspective in respect to their experiences interacting with other art market stakeholders

Analyzing ligation mixtures using a PCR based method

We have developed a simple and effective method (Lig-PCR) for monitoring ligation reactions using PCR and primers that are common to many cloning vectors. Ligation mixtures can directly be used as templates and the results can be analyzed by conventional gel electrophoresis. The PCR products are representative of the recombinant molecules created during ligation and the corresponding transformants. Orientation of inserts can also be determined using an internal primer. The usefulness of this method has been demonstrated using ligation mixtures of two cDNA’s derived from the salivary glands of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. The method described here is sensitive and easy to perform compared to currently available methods

Detection of Ligation Products of DNA Linkers with 5′-OH Ends by Denaturing PAGE Silver Stain

To explore if DNA linkers with 5′-hydroxyl (OH) ends could be joined by commercial T4 and E. coli DNA ligase, these linkers were synthesized by using the solid-phase phosphoramidite method and joined by using commercial T4 and E. coli DNA ligases. The ligation products were detected by using denaturing PAGE silver stain and PCR method. About 0.5–1% of linkers A–B and E–F, and 0.13–0.5% of linkers C–D could be joined by T4 DNA ligases. About 0.25–0.77% of linkers A–B and E–F, and 0.06–0.39% of linkers C–D could be joined by E. coli DNA ligases. A 1-base deletion (-G) and a 5-base deletion (-GGAGC) could be found at the ligation junctions of the linkers. But about 80% of the ligation products purified with a PCR product purification kit did not contain these base deletions, meaning that some linkers had been correctly joined by T4 and E. coli DNA ligases. In addition, about 0.025–0.1% of oligo 11 could be phosphorylated by commercial T4 DNA ligase. The phosphorylation products could be increased when the phosphorylation reaction was extended from 1 hr to 2 hrs. We speculated that perhaps the linkers with 5′-OH ends could be joined by T4 or E. coli DNA ligase in 2 different manners: (i) about 0.025–0.1% of linkers could be phosphorylated by commercial T4 DNA ligase, and then these phosphorylated linkers could be joined to the 3′-OH ends of other linkers; and (ii) the linkers could delete one or more nucleotide(s) at their 5′-ends and thereby generated some 5′-phosphate ends, and then these 5′-phosphate ends could be joined to the 3′-OH ends of other linkers at a low efficiency. Our findings may probably indicate that some DNA nicks with 5′-OH ends can be joined by commercial T4 or E. coli DNA ligase even in the absence of PNK

Multi-Family Psycho-Education Group for Assertive Community Treatment Clients and Families of Culturally Diverse Background: A Pilot Study

This study evaluates the incorporation of Multi-Family Psycho-education Group (MFPG) to an Assertive Community Treatment Team developed to serve culturally diverse clients who suffers from severe mental illness. Participants included Chinese and Tamil clients and their family members. Family members’ well-being, perceived burden, and acceptance of clients were assessed before and after the intervention. Focus group interviews with clinicians were conducted to qualitatively examine MFPG. Family members’ acceptance increased after MFPG. Regular attendance was associated with reduction in perceived family burden. Culturally competent delivery of MFPG enhanced family members’ understanding of mental illness and reduced stress levels and negative feelings towards clients