Philanthropy and cultural autonomy: rethinking economic support for the arts

This thesis examines the relationship between philanthropy and cultural autonomy in the arts, questioning how the economic support of artistic production can affect the independence of cultural actors. The first chapter explores the development and contemporary functions of philanthropy, focusing on its structural importance for arts organisations operating within the limitations of both market revenues and public funding. The second chapter critically examines the tensions arising from this dependency, considering the relationship between private wealth, power and cultural practitioners. Through the concepts of cultural autonomy and artwashing, and through the cases of Hans Haacke, the Sackler family, BP and Warren Kanders, the thesis investigates how philanthropic and corporate support can contribute to censorship, reputational legitimisation and forms of institutional influence. The third chapter moves from critique towards alternative possibilities, examining the Owneh Initiative in Palestine as a lens through which to rethink the organisation and circulation of resources in the cultural sector. Its practices of aid monitoring, solidarity funding and resource sharing are considered in relation to the concepts of commons, care, reciprocity and redistribution. Rather than proposing complete independence from external funding, the thesis argues for a shift from donor-recipient relations towards forms of collective resource governance that can strengthen cultural autonomy and the capacity of artistic organisations to negotiate their economic dependencies.