Identity, creativity and the cultural entrepreneur

This paper discusses the identity of cultural entrepreneurs. Cultural entrepreneurs are by definition required to demonstrate a wide range of skills and aptitudes. The paper argues that the multitasking culture of cultural entrepreneurs is not only a pragmatic necessity but is also an essential component in their creative abilities and identities. Cultural entrepreneurs move between the worlds of art and commerce and their sense of identity is formed in the tensions and contradictions which lie between these two spheres of influence. These implicit contradictions remain a powerful source of motivation and creativity but resurface more problematically in attitudes to business and business growth. This in turn presents challenges for management and policy in the commercial creative sector. Finally it also raises challenges for organisational research in the cultural sector. In order to adapt cultural policy and management to an increasingly entrepreneurial cultural sector, researchers need first to identify the subjective self-perceptions and identity myths of the cultural entrepreneur