The ABC centre serves as an interdisciplinary hub that reimagines the role of aesthetics in business research, education and practice. Its scope spans diverse artistic domains, from music and literature to theatre and craft. A key focus in this collaboration is to understand how new value propositions and entrepreneurial opportunities emerge in the musical & performing arts, but also how collective creativity is organized and led. Dr Sara Wilén, artistic researcher and senior lecturer in artistic research and improvisation at MHM and an affiliate of ABC, highlights the potential of integrating opera’s improvisational techniques into organizational studies to inspire innovative approaches in business contexts. Improvisation speaks to agility and flexibility in organization- and management studies, but there has been little ‘conversation’ between them thus far. This collaboration provides remedy to this lack.
This collaboration is further strengthened by the OPERACTIVE project, initiated by ABC postdoctoral fellow Dr Alexandra Huang-Kokina. This practice-led research addresses critical challenges in audience participation and inclusive engagement within classical music and opera. It confronts the elitist roots and connotations of these art forms while tackling their competition with popular entertainment such as football and TV series in today’s mass culture. OPERACTIVE seeks to transition heritage art forms like opera into the digital era by designing gamified, interactive experiences that engage diverse audiences, diversify revenue streams, prototype innovative virtual concert venues, and secure the cultural sustainability of classical arts.
Leveraging their combined artistic and academic expertise, researchers at ABC and MHM – including Professor Hjorth, Dr Wilén and Dr Huang-Kokina – aim to explore how the integration of organization- and entrepreneurship studies, opera improvisation, digital humanities, and humanistic AI studies can enhance accessibility and expand the audience base for opera and classical music. Building on the LUDICH innovation project, which harnesses the potential of digital streaming services, OPERACTIVE seeks to enhance audience immersion and interactivity beyond traditional in-situ performances, while alleviating the economic pressures on these art forms. Furthermore, this research will inform educational initiatives and curriculum development by exploring the potentials of incorporating entrepreneurial thinking and AI & digital skills into higher music education, as well as embedding improvisational and collective creativity and aesthetics into business education. This dual approach will equip students with new skillsets needed to navigate the complex challenges of future societies.
OPERACTIVE demonstrates strong synergies with other initiatives and centres at Lund University, including the Inter Arts Center, led by Dr Hedvig Jalhed – IAC offers an additional platform for the project, providing access to technical equipment, support, training facilities and connections within the artistic research community in Malmö. Internationally, the project builds on Dr Huang-Kokina’s ongoing work at the University of Edinburgh, facilitating new collaborations with the Edinburgh Futures Institute’s new research cluster “Creativity, AI, and the Human”, led by Dr Caterina Moruzzi.