The Role of the (Governance of the) Arts in Cultural Sustainability: A Case Study of Music

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to map out the role of arts and the transfer values of the case of intensified music education as a governance tool for cultural sustainability. It takes the form of a literature review, which reveals that the role of arts in terms of governance of cultural sustainability includes the arts as issues of cultural heritage; symbolic translations of cultural values; transferring learning about emotions and life-quality, cooperation and linguistic-logical skills and potential transmitters of socio-economic enhancement of individuals performing it. The negative outcome is that the arts are predominated by the elite and wealthy, and that the potential of the role of the arts in the public education curriculum has not been utilised nor preferred in many countries as a result of low government expenditure. Other projects may exist in non-academic public media that may confirm or reject the findings. The chapter suggests academia and practitioners study, impact and initiate better ways of including the arts in the governance of cultural sustainability through public education. The inclusion of the arts in public education can improve the livelihood of children in all socio-economic areas. It connects two different literatures – that of cultural sustainability and that of traditional art studies in education, and raises questions about current governance practices underestimating the value of including cultural sustainability in governance and the role of the arts herein.

Citation

Lauesen, L.M. (2016), "The Role of the (Governance of the) Arts in Cultural Sustainability: A Case Study of Music", Accountability and Social Responsibility: International Perspectives (Developments in Corporate Governance and Responsibility, Vol. 9), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 49-74. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2043-052320160000009003