ABSTRACT
Improvisation is a pervasive feature in the world of arts management. Sometimes this yields benefits, making arts organizations more agile. However, improvisation often erodes the effectiveness of those organizations, leading to the suboptimal execution of programs and projects. Costly mistakes, employee frustration and bad image are among the consequences when improvisation is the dominant approach to managing the arts. In this chapter, we first lay out some of the reasons that make improvisation such a common occurrence in arts management. We then propose a number of critical organizational areas and interventions to reduce the level of improvisation. Rethinking the institutions’ planning processes and the profiles of the people conducting them is increasingly necessary today in every arts organization. We illustrate some of our proposals with a few case studies.
