The Future of the Performing Arts, April 2026

Phillip Cartwright, Ph.D. and Founder, HorizonVU Group

This is the third in the series of posts concerning the future of the performing arts. Previously, we set out some issues facing the performing arts. Considering organizational structure, that is, the formal internal interactional link between role actors in an organization. We have discussed a conventional hierarchical model. Contemplating key concerns, we can not avoid thinking about demographics, technology, ideologies, and the politics and economics of our time. There are no doubt, other areas of interest. Before taking a step into the future, it will serve our understanding to summarize key broad factors impacting performing arts.

There really is no correct ranking of issues or concerns, but for the sake of explanation, put changing demographics at he head of our list. Demographics is foundational in the sense that as demographics change, institutions including the performing arts must adapt to survive.

Source: Organizational Physics

Put technology as second on our list. As many scholars have suggested, technology is disruptive and transformative. Looking at the big picture, technology can disrupt our ecosystem even if we hold other factors constant. Technology drives how the arts, and performing arts in particular are created, distributed and monetized.

While there are arguments to the contrary, we can consider economics or the economy as number three. Being an economist by training, it is tempting to put the economy upfront and center. For purposes of this series, economics will be considered in the context of resource allocation. Economics sorts winners from losers. As far as performing arts are concerned, economics plays a major role in the deciding between private and public funding policies. Increasing costs impact the what is performed and the scale of performances. Finally, economic inequality impacts particupation in the performing arts

Fourth, politics comes into play as the rule maker. Politics impacts culture and reflects underlying values related to freedom including freedom of speech and ethics. Fifth, ideologies are a collection of conscious or unconscious attitudes, ideas, and beliefs that represent or influence misconceptions or understandings of the social and political reality.

In the next installment, our discussion will start turning toward a heterarchical network model in which players (people or machines) function without a set hierarchy and authority changes dynamically according to task, context, or expertise. Briefly, it's a network in which coordination develops through adaptable relationships rather than top-down management, and no single node is always in charge.

Source: Organizational Physics