Paper short abstract:

The world is interconnected through art. Collaboration patterns in artistic production broaden the scope of constant search and experimenting as survival strategy. Co-creation involves interdisciplinary work, audience participation and reformulation of the field toward horizontal arrangements.

Paper long abstract:

Cultural production in performing art is facing structural challenges reshaping the field where independent companies show kaleidoscopic (re)arrangements.

Various forms of collaboration patterns give rise to new projects, and blur the boundaries between actors of the field: companies, disciplines, consumers, producers. To broaden the scope of approaches, the paper addresses how to theorize collaboration of actors in the field: artists, consumers, culturepreneurs. The 'classic' frames of anthropology, sociology of art are contrasted with cultural economics and boosted with approaches of innovation literature to create a frame for understanding the fluidity of the different roles played by the actors of the artistic field and patterns of collaboration which underpin constant experimenting and search for new ways both in art creation and as means of survival.

The paper then sheds light on the nature and structure of collaborations in artistic production of independent performing art companies (theatre and contemporary dance) where modularity is at hand for drawing on the relation of production, organizational boundaries and the different roles played by the actors involved.

Empirical findings are supported by fieldwork based on participant observation, semi-structured interviews; and narrative analysis. Conclusions are expected to contribute to the understanding of patterns of collaborative production and open innovation in the performing art drawing on the peculiarities of artistic production in contrast/ complementing with findings grabbed from technology-lead industries (where it has been extensively investigated). Furthermore the analysis would broaden the scope of frames of understanding artistic production in its collaborative formations.