Exhibition enterprising - project management issues in six European cases

Based on a study of six European case studies, this paper discusses the effects of the aesthetic on management of exhibition projects. It also discusses general project managem ent theory within business studies in comparison to findings from the cas e studies. General project managem ent theory makes assumptions that are not present in aesthetic enterprising and projects, and therefore there is a need for a development of a theory of aesthetic project management. The paper presents differences between assumptions of the charact eristics of project work in general project management theory, and evidence from the empirical studies underlying the paper. It also presents some of the characteristics of exhibitions as a medium and as an aesthetic good, as well as some characteristics of the professional contexts in which exhibitions are realised. These characteristics and contexts of exhibitions influence the management of exhibition projects.

[1]  C. Midler “Projectification” of the firm: The renault case , 1995 .

[2]  Translation and Transcription in Development Projects From Vague Problems to Clear-Cut Solutions Through Project Organizing , 1999 .

[3]  Johann Packendorff,et al.  INQUIRING INTO THE TEMPORARY ORGANIZATION: NEW DIRECTIONS FOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH , 1995 .

[4]  J. Sartre,et al.  L'être et le néant : essai d'ontologie phénoménologique , 1953 .

[5]  Gianfranco Mossetto Aesthetics and Economics , 1993 .

[6]  Rolf A. Lundin,et al.  Neo-Industrial Organising: Renewal by Action and Knowledge Formation in a Project-intensive Economy , 1999 .

[7]  Michael Belcher Exhibitions in Museums , 1992 .

[8]  S. Dubin Bureaucratizing the Muse: Public Funds and the Cultural Worker , 1988 .

[9]  Ève Chiapello Les modes de contrôle des organisations artistiques , 1994 .

[10]  J. March Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning , 1991, STUDI ORGANIZZATIVI.

[11]  Boris Groys,et al.  Über das Neue : Versuch einer Kulturökonomie , 1992 .

[12]  K. Luckhurst The story of exhibitions , 1951 .

[13]  Katja Lindqvist Exhibition enterprising: Six cases of realisation from idea to institution , 2003 .

[14]  M. Castells The rise of the network society , 1996 .

[15]  E. Trist The Evolution of Socio-Technical Systems: A Conceptual Framework and an Action Research Program , 1981 .

[16]  J. Urry,et al.  Economies of signs and space , 1994 .

[17]  Mats Engwall Jakten på det effektiva projektet , 1995 .