aceUVi

tional structure in determining arts organisations’ innovation levels 4 , Castañer
and Campos emphasise the role of organisations’ performance relative to their
aspirations and the availability of ‘slack’ resources. Organisational theory suggests
that ‘organizations only engage in risk-taking (innovation) when their current
performance is below their aspiration’, and Castañer and Campos argue that this
also applies to arts organisations (2002, 42). In a similar manner the authors apply
the concept of organisational ‘slack’—the availability of resources that are not
currently needed—to the arts. They argue,
when organizations engage in experimentation they accept the possibility of
failure. Hence, only organizations that enjoy a certain amount of slack might
engage in artistic innovation. (2002, 45)
Our literature review, unfortunately, did not turn up much else in this area.
Further efforts are needed to identify existing research that examines the quality
of the creative processes within cultural organisations. If existing research is not
sufficiently illuminating, new research should be commissioned, given the centrality
of this aspect of creative capacity to the overall health and sustainability of
the sector.
Technical proficiency, skill and artistry
Nearly all researchers agree that excellence in craft (ie, skill, technical proficiency,
virtuosity, artistry) is a core element of creative capacity (eg, Hannah
et al’s ‘ability’ and Boerner’s ‘performance quality’). This is quality in a conventional
sense, often equated with ‘artistic excellence’—a commonly used term that
is fraught with ambiguity. The widespread acceptance of technical proficiency
as an aspect of creative capacity affords the professional artist with a privileged
place in the hierarchy of quality. There is strong agreement amongst researchers
that expert/peer reviewers are best suited to adjudicate this element of creative
capacity, although some studies also rely on audience feedback, as well as staff
self-assessments.
Of course, creative capacity does not hinge solely on an organisation’s ability
to employ virtuosic artists or curators. What does ‘excellence in craft’ mean in
4 Castañer and Campos (2002) cite J Heilbrun, 1998, ‘A Study of Opera Repertory in the
United States, 1982–1983 to 1997–1998’, conference paper, Xth International Conference
on Cultural Economics, University of Barcelona; P DiMaggio and K Stenberg, 1985, ‘Why
Do Some Theaters Innovate more than Others An Empirical Analysis’, in Poetics 14,
107–122.
CREATIVE CAPACITY OF AN ORGANISATION 119
UNDERSTANDING the value and impacts of cultural experiences