Artist Autonomy and the Contemporary Creative Economy: Art, Market and Policy (New Perspectives in Cultural Management)

This book examines one of the most persistent concepts in modern art and cultural theory: the proposition that art can operate independently from economic, political or social constraints. In an age defined by global interdependence, digital transformation, and shifting cultural policies, the notion of autonomy has acquired new urgency.This volume explores how artistic autonomy is negotiated and redefined within today’s complex intersections of governance, markets, institutions, and technology.Bringing together critical essays, case studies, and reflective practices, this book reveals how autonomy is not a static or absolute state, but a living process shaped through relation, negotiation, and vulnerability.The book traces how artists and institutions navigate structural pressures while maintaining creative integrity, and how autonomy itself functions as both a protective space and a mode of engagement.Through a wide range of perspectives, spanning theory, policy, and artistic practice