The Artful Entrepreneur: Exploring Philanthropic Innovations for Arts and Culture in the 21st Century

Tuesday, October 19, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm

Organized by Dennis Scholl, Miami program director and vice president/arts, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; Marete Wester, director of arts policy, Americans for the Arts.

Social entrepreneurs and venture philanthropists are driving new investment and philanthropic strategies aimed at implementing innovative ideas that address social causes and create positive financial impacts on the communities they wish to improve. Little is understood about how the arts are employed as a strategy within these models, or whether these models can be effectively deployed on a broader scale to support cultural development. This was the topic of the 2010 Americans for the Arts-Aspen Institute Seminar for Leadership in the Arts, a meeting of thirty leading philanthropists and cultural leaders. Participants in this session will discuss and debate the ideas that emerged and the infrastructure that is needed to encourage more entrepreneurial initiatives within the arts and culture sector.