How artistic institutions feel: The emotional landscape of contemporary art organizations and its role in decision-making

Application summary

This project investigates how emotions shape contemporary art institutions and their decision-making processes. While emotions have been widely studied in sociology and organizational theory, they remain underexplored within art studies, art management, and cultural policy. Institutions often appear as neutral and rational actors, yet their everyday operations are charged with complex emotional dynamics that affect careers, agendas, and public life. Drawing on over a decade of professional experience in the art field, I argue that institutions embody emotional landscapes – dynamic environments where emotions are produced, regulated, and negotiated. The study focuses on institutions in Finland engaged in exhibiting, producing, collecting, and supporting contemporary visual art, including museums, galleries, foundations, and artist-run spaces. It examines emotional landscapes on two levels: externally, as perceived by publics and art professionals in the urban space, and internally, as lived by employees in their professional communities. The internal level is analyzed across social (emotional ties and roles), material (spaces such as galleries, offices, and collections), and symbolic (curatorial and strategic meanings) dimensions. Methodologically, the project employs an interdisciplinary approach. The external level will be studied through cultural mapping, combining tangible (architecture, artworks, people) and intangible (missions, values, attitudes) data. The internal level will rely on mixed methods: qualitative interviews, participant observation, and questionnaires in 3-5 selected institutions of different models and scales. Data will be analyzed through structural, thematic, and content analysis. By developing the concept of emotional landscape, the project addresses how affective dynamics shape institutions’ strategies, operations, and collective actions, offering new insights for art studies and cultural policy.