Arts Incubators as Policy Tools : Outputs, Outcomes, and Policy Targets

Literature suggests that arts incubators serve cultural, economic, and community development functions by supporting individual artists, nonprofit arts organizations, and creative industries entrepreneurs. The outputs of arts incubators include new arts-based businesses, showings of incubated artwork, individual artists with enhanced business planning capacity, and more. When arts incubators are used as policy tools, the desired outcomes include community economic development, increased community vibrancy, community cultural development, and individual artist economic stability and sustainability. Tracking the targets of arts incubator enterprises provides insight into their use as policy tools. This essay explores the arts incubator landscape in the US and provides examples of outputs and policy outcomes (both desired and realized) for arts incubators