About

Art, Culture & Entrepreneurship (ACE) is an online, open access, peer-reviewed journal and platform devoted to the study of initiatives within the art and cultural sector to establish new forms of organized practices. The journal in this sense strives for a broad empirical repertoire with studies of entrepreneurship within domains such as the performing arts, visual arts, music, literature, design, cultural heritage, and other related areas. Theoretically-wise, the journal specifically welcomes contributions that advance the understanding of art, culture, and entrepreneurship in a cross-disciplinary manner, bridging scholarly insights from the humanities and the social sciences with insights from reflective practitioners within the art and cultural sector.

ACE aims at providing an intellectual sanctuary for all those that are interested in art, culture, and entrepreneurship. To facilitate this the journal is divided into three sections, each with its specific purpose:

 

The first section - Articles - publishes papers that are sophisticated in the use of theories, empirical materials, and methods; well-positioned in regard to contemporary scholarly debates on art, culture, and entrepreneurship; and characterized by topical relevance. These papers are subjected to scholarly double blind peer-review.

Once a paper is submitted to the Articles section through the online system, the peer-review process is initiated by the journal editor, who performs an initial screening of the paper. If it is deemed to be aligned with the purpose and aim of the journal, and of sufficient scientific quality, the paper is assigned to the one of the section’s editors who is considered the most suitable (in terms of expertise and familiarity with the paper’s topic) to monitor the review process.

The assigned editor is responsible for recruiting two reviewers with expert knowledge in the paper’s area, who are independent of both the authors of the paper and each other, and have no other ties to the journal beyond strictly professional ones. The author/s of the paper and the reviewers are all anonymous to one another. Authors as well as reviewers are urged to let the editors know if they know of, or suspect, any competing interests.

Once an invited expert has accepted to review the paper, the editor asks the reviewer to follow the journal’s reviewer guidance, in which the importance of constructive reviews is stressed, i.e., reviews that help the author/s to improve the quality of the article and its line of argument. In the guidance, the reviewers are also specifically encouraged to assess the contributions by focusing on the following aspects:

Positioning: Is the article thoroughly positioned in a relevant and interesting theoretical, empirical and/or methodological context of art, culture, and entrepreneurship?

Problematization: Does the article entail a problematization of current theoretical conversations, empirical practices and/or methods in use in the area of art, culture, and entrepreneurship?

Purpose: Does the article present a relevant purpose (in relation to positioning and problematization)?

Conceptual framework: Is the conceptual framework adequate and accounted for in a meaningful manner?

Research design: Is the research design adequate? Is the research design accounted for transparently?

Contribution: Does the article contribute to ongoing conversations on art, culture, and entrepreneurship in an original and meaningful manner?

Structure and coherence: Do the article and its parts form a meaningful whole? Is the article's line of argument clearly structured and well presented?

In the reviewer guideline, the reviewers are asked to state their overall recommendation regarding the submitted article in accordance with the following options:  

  • Reject (explain your reasoning in your review)
  • Accept without any revision
  • Revise – either major or minor revisions needed (explain to the author/s what is required for the article to be accepted)

Based on the reviewers’ recommendations, the editor arrives at a decision to reject or accept the paper with no, major or minor revisions. If the reviews go in different directions, the editor might confer with the other two editors before arriving at a final decision.

If the decision is to revise, then the author(s) is asked to revise and submit within 30 days. Once a paper is resubmitted after revision, another review round opens with the reviewers.

 

The second section - Art works - curates different types of representations of entrepreneurship, such as short stories, essays, poetry, music, or visual art, intended to reflect, problematize and destabilize beliefs and values attached to initiatives within the art and cultural sector to establish new forms of organized practices. These works are subjected to artistic single blind peer-review, meaning the reviewers are anonymous while the names of the originators are known.

Artists wishing to make their work accessible are asked to first contact the editor to discuss the content and form of the work.

When a submission is assigned to the Artworks section, the editors recruit two reviewers with artistic expertise in the specific medium of the submission. These reviewers must be independent of both the submitting artist and of each other. Artists as well as reviewers are urged to let the editors know if they know of, or suspect, any competing interests.

Once an invited expert agrees to review a submission, they are encouraged to follow the journal’s review guidelines, which emphasize the importance of constructive feedback: feedback that helps the creator improve the quality and expression of the work. Reviewers are specifically asked to assess the submission based on the following criteria:

  • Does the artwork relate to the journal’s theme in a relevant way?
  • Is there originality in the work, both in relation to the public scene of the specific art form and to the journal’s theme?
  • Does the work demonstrate professionalism and technical skill within the relevant artistic field?
  • Does the work, through its artistic expression, portray and explore relevant aspects of entrepreneurship?

In the review guidelines, reviewers are asked to provide an overall recommendation according to the following options:

  • Reject (with justification in the review)
  • Accept without changes
  • Revise – major or minor revisions needed (with an explanation to the creator of what is required for the work to be approved)

Based on the reviewers’ recommendations, the editor decides whether to reject or accept the submission, with or without revision. If the reviews differ, the editor may consult the other two editors before making a final decision.

If the decision is revision, the authors are asked to revise and resubmit the work within 30 days. Upon resubmission, a new review round begins with the same reviewers.

 

The third section - Reviews - opens up a space for critical reviews, research notes, perspective papers on both academic and artistic works. To energize both scholarly debates and initiatives in the art and cultural sector to establish new forms of organized practices, the section not only welcomes book reviews but also reviews on journal articles, chapters in anthologies, conference proceedings, etc., and reviews on expressions of art, culture, and entrepreneurship, such as concerts, theatrical works, paintings, and literary works. These reviews are not subjected to double blind peer-review, instead they are developed in close collaboration with the review editor.

When a text is submitted to the Reviews section through the online system, the peer-review process is initiated by the journal editor, who performs an initial screening of the paper. If it is deemed to be aligned with the purpose and aim of the journal and of sufficient quality, the paper is assigned to the review editor.

Unlike articles and artworks, texts in the review section are not subjected to anonymous peer review. Instead, the review process is dialogical and collaborative between the author, the review editor, and the journal editor. The review editor provides direct and constructive feedback to the author, aiming to refine the argument's clarity and ensure the text’s relevance and contribution to ongoing conversations in art, culture, and entrepreneurship.

In giving feedback, the review editor considers the following aspects:

Relevance: Does the text engage with ongoing research conversations, public debates, practices, or expressions in art, culture, and entrepreneurship?

Clarity and structure: Is the text well-written and accessible to the journal’s audience?

Contribution: Does the text contribute to the research field by providing meaningful insights, opening new perspectives, provoking discussion, or problematizing specific work productively and interestingly?

Based on the collaborative process, the review editor and the journal editor jointly reach one of the following decisions:

  • Reject (explain your reasoning in your review)
  • Accept without any revision
  • Revise – either major or minor revisions needed (explain to the author/s what is required for the text to be accepted)

If revisions are requested, the author is invited to revise and resubmit within 30 days. The review editor then re-evaluates the revised version to determine if the revisions meet the required standard, if more work is necessary, or if the text should be rejected. When needed, the review editor may consult with the journal editor before making a final decision.

 

Call for papers

ACE invites researchers, artists, and reflective practitioners from the business, art, and culture communities.

We welcome empirical (qualitative and quantitative) and conceptual articles as well as artworks and reviews related to art and cultural entrepreneurship theories and practices. Its coverage includes, but is not restricted to:

  • Methods for collaborative research, between academia and practice, as well as between the areas of art and entrepreneurship.
  • Definitions and terms for cultural entrepreneurship in local practice.
  • Art and artistic expression understood as entrepreneurship.
  • Uncover tensions, dilemmas, myths and for granted taken views in the discourse of culture and entrepreneurship.
  • Entrepreneurial practices using cultural heritage as a recourse in creation of commercial and social value.
  • Exploring entrepreneurial imagination through artistic expressions and fiction.
  • Using art and culture to create educative moments in entrepreneurship education.
  • The situation for entrepreneurship in the cultural sector in the wake of the corona pandemic.
  • Incubators and other institutional factors in the cultural entrepreneurship sector.

Prospective contributors are invited to discuss manuscript ideas with the editor. Please contact Daniel Ericsson at Daniel.ericsson@lnu.se