Production networks in the cultural and creative sector case studies from the visual arts industry

The visual arts sector comprises various artistic activities created primarily for visual perception. The sector encompasses “all non‐literary and non‐musical fine arts” (EC, 2017, p. 40) and includes artworks of a visual nature such as paintings, crafts, photography, video, prints and sculptures (UNESCO, 2009). In this report, we attempt to provide an innovative way of understanding how production networks in visual arts function based on the global production network (GPN) approach. This analytical framework highlights the role of visual artists and other actors in the artworks’ production, distribution, exchange and archiving. In addition, it includes the role of local, national and global conditions where the artwork is produced, emphasising the importance of different forms of embeddedness and power structures within networks. Utilising the key analytical building blocks of the GPN approach, we aim to provide a new foundation for effective policies at the EU, national and local levels targeted at economic activities in visual arts.