What turn will cultural policy take? The renewal of the Swedish model

Abstract

In this article, the development of the Swedish cultural policy is studied, particularly the interplay between arts and business, between public and private funding. Using institutional theory and interviews with actors within the cultural field, several areas are studied. After the peak of the welfare era, a change seems to have taken place, at least on a rhetorical level. Artistic organizations seem to a higher extent to be regarded, and regard themselves, as private businesses, and need to try to find sponsors in order to be considered legitimate. On the other hand, no reforms have yet taken place in order to encourage private funding. Part of this might be due to a lack of belief in the civil sector, which could suit many artistic organizations better, and open up for more private funding – if that is what one wants.

Keywords:

• arts and business
• sponsoring
• donations
• foundations
• civil sector
• institutional theory
• Sweden