Bullying in the Arts: Vocation, Exploitation and Abuse of Power - Softcover

Quigg, Anne-Marie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1138895040 ISBN 13: 9781138895041

Publisher: Routledge, 2017

Synopsis

Diva, Prima Donna, Maestro, Virtuoso: creative geniuses with the ability to deliver artistic excellence. However this perception can serve to tilt the balance of power in relationships and to substantiate the notion of artistic temperament; the Master is always right and the Diva must have her way. The artistic genius may be hell to work with but the end result (the art) is exceptional, so behaviour deemed unacceptable in normal circumstances must be tolerated. If the corporate culture in the arts is in thrall to the concept of the artistic genius, then across the various disciplines within the creative sector the prevailing mentality may be subscribing to a set of values that allows, even directly encourages, behaviour and employment conditions that are abusive. Bullying in the Arts argues that this mindset can have a profoundly negative effect in performing arts organisations, permitting managers and other staff to ignore bullying behaviour, as long as the show goes on. Researchers in a range of disciplines and fields have studied workplace bullying and, having witnessed bullying in a number of different arts organisations, Anne-Marie Quigg researched whether the behaviour represented isolated, rare occurrences in specific creative environments or if it was indicative of a more widespread problem in the arts and cultural sector. She discovered the highest level of bullying recorded in any single employment sector in the UK. Bullying in the Arts reveals Dr Quigg's findings, including the personal, organisational, legal and economic consequences of bullying behaviour. Looking at the experiences of countries such as Australia, Canada, France, Sweden, and the United States, this book challenges the notion that the arts are beyond the limitations of the ordinary milieu, exempt from the rules and regulations governing the treatment of employees. Arts managers and professionals, teachers, students and researchers in the arts world, and all those in management or management education, will find here a new model centred on management responses to bullying behaviour, which demonstrates the beneficial effect that knowledgeable, skilled action can have on the outcome of bullying incidents.

About this title

About the Author:

Dr Anne-Marie Quigg is a Director of Jackson Quigg Associates (UK), consultants specialising in Arts Management, Creative Industries and Community Development. She is a Guest Lecturer on MA courses in Cultural Policy and Management, at City University, London. Dr Quigg has a BA in English from Queens University, Belfast and a Postgraduate Diploma in Arts Administration from City University, London, where she also gained her PhD. in the Department of Cultural Policy and Management, studying workplace bullying in the arts. Anne-Marie Quigg has been a regional and community arts officer and a theatre and arts centre administrator and director. She has been and is a committee member, trustee and chair of, and an adviser to, a large number of community and arts organisations throughout the UK. She has written journal articles and papers for international conferences.

Review:

'Quigg's work gives an insightful snapshot into the labour practices of arts organisations, firstly in terms of the "creative" sector as a whole in relation to key trends in employment practices; and secondly, it also represents the way in which a variety of different organisations manage social relations. In doing this, the primary focus of Bullying in the Arts is therefore not on "artists" per se but on the actual management of the arts in terms of how labour processes are produced. This book therefore helps towards an understanding of unacceptable management practice - such as bullying - but also points towards potential directions for improved "leadership".' --The Variant, Issue 42, Winter 2011

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1138895040
• ISBN 13: 9781138895041
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 272