Work

Power, precarity and diversity in the field of publicly funded arts and culture: An analysis of Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisations

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: • We relationally map the field of publicly funded cultural production in England. • We demonstrate how positions in the field are associated with the decision to offer a programme of activities that represents diverse communities. • Findings reveal the fragile state of cultural production and the unequal focus on diversity in publicly funded arts and culture. Issues around diversity in the arts have been widely examined, revealing significant inequalities in public funding and the concentration of resources. However, studies on cultural production logics and their impact on programming diversity are limited. This paper uses Bourdieusian field analysis to provide an organisational overview of cultural production, examining how the distribution of key economic, material, and symbolic resources within cultural organisations shapes the diversity of their programming. Using survey data from publicly funded Arts Council England's (ACE) National Portfolio Organisations (NPOs), we construct a field of NPO cultural production. Through multiple correspondence analysis, we investigate two key questions: (1) How are NPOs distributed in terms of resources, disciplines, and their organisational structure within the field of NPO production? (2) How strong is the association, or homology, between positions in the field of NPO cultural production and the programming of activities for diverse audiences? The resulting field is primarily shaped by economic resilience and precarity, as well as by disciplinary and organisational differences. Our analysis reveals that larger, more economically resilient organisations show a lower commitment to diversity, while these efforts are concentrated among smaller and less resilient organisations. Despite strategic calls for diversity from funding bodies, the diversity of cultural offerings is predominantly structured around economic principles. Except for programming oriented to LGBTQ+, small organisations appear to bear a heavier burden than legacy institutions in catering to groups traditionally excluded and underrepresented in the arts.

Source: Poetics

DOI: 10.1016/j.poetic.2025.102055

Authors: Adrian Leguina, Anna Zsubori, Carlos Poblete-Lagos

Institutions: Loughborough University, Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences

Language: English

Topic: Cultural Industries and Urban Development

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,390