An organizational model for contemporary art: art democratization and sustainability in the post global age

Despite the involvement of a mass public and new gatekeepers, contemporary art production has not become more accessible to the general public nor to artists, and the art system appears to be not evenly diffused across geographies and social classes. This dissertation focuses on the question of how to resolve the geographical imbalance of the contemporary art world by creating a new possible ecological system for artists and minorities at the local level. It investigates the effects of the processes of globalization and democratization on the consumption and production of contemporary art by questioning whether or not these processes are encouraging a global and equal participation into the art debate. The research is supported by the analysis of three case-studies, “Artisti a Km0” project by the Pecci Center in Prato, Italy; the Pompidou Mobile, France; Art in General, nonprofit organization in New York. The analysis of the relationship between the three institutions and their local communities intends to shed light on the issues that a cultural institution must face in its balance between the global art world and its local instances, and to define guidelines for the development of local art production and distribution. The three case studies, although all equally dealing with a social and democratizing aim, differ according to the relationship they have with their local communities. The analysis demonstrates that there is a correlation across different geographical levels and a common necessity of safeguard of cultural differences at the local level, which represents the fundamental premises for the development of sustainable ecologies of local art production and distribution. Finally the research outlines a methodological proposal able to work as a practical solution on the field; a new organizational model, Hub, is proposed as a self-sustainable and durable model for the spread of local contemporary art.