About CrowdCul

CROWDCUL is an international research project on crowdfunding in the cultural sector. It focuses on adoption, effects and implications of this innovative funding strategy in the context of cultural practices. The research is run and conducted by a team of international partners from Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (Norway), University of Agder (Norway), University of South-Eastern Norway (Norway), University for the Creative Arts (UK), and University of Barcelona (Spain). Read more about the individual team members here.

The research addresses three important themes currently either completely or largely absent from the existing literature on crowdfunding in the cultural sector. These themes are focused on processes before and after crowdfunding practice:

  • the factors influencing the artists’ adoption of crowdfunding as a channel for fundraising their cultural production (pre-campaign);
  • the short- and long-term impacts of successful crowdfunding experience on artists’ long-term economy, reputation and aesthetic practices (post-campaign);
  • the implications of crowdfunding usage by artists for traditional funding mechanisms and artists’ aesthetic practices in general.

In close collaboration with crowdfunding platforms, artists and other stakeholders, the research team will follow a mixed-method approach and conduct several qualitative and quantitative studies such as literature review, surveys and interviews.

This project is one of the first to unpack the short- and long-term implications of crowdfunding for artists (both at individual and sector levels) and therefore will make an important contribution to the existing academic literature. It will also provide useful practical inputs for artists, artists’ associations, crowdfunding platforms, public authorities, and public and private agencies providing support schemes for artists.

The project is managed by the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences that coordinates parallel work on three separate research work packages.

CROWDCUL was launched in September 2020 and is expected to finalize in December 2024. The project is funded by the Research Council of Norway.