Arts Entrepreneurship and Economic Development: Can Every City be "Austintatious"?

In the past decade, an increasing number of cities have sought to use the promotion of the arts, and especially arts entrepreneurship, as a path to economic development and revitalization. The work of Richard Florida has been important in contributing to the implementation of these strategies, as has the success of cities such as Austin, Texas in attracting high-tech industries and a creative and diverse populace. The purpose of this survey of the academic literature is to provide a definition of arts entrepreneurship, delineate the characteristics of art entrepreneurs from other types of entrepreneurs, assess the best-practice strategies for cities promoting arts entrepreneurship, examine the proper role of government versus the private sector in promoting arts entrepreneurship, and to evaluate whether education and training can increase arts entrepreneurship. It concludes with prospects for the future of arts entrepreneurship.