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Is it work or is it play? Christian Madsbjerg on the business problem of being an artist

Cost: free, but RSVP is required.
Refreshments will be served.

CUE Art Foundation welcomes author, business analyst and ReD Associates partner Christian Madsbjerg for the final event in the 2014-15 series, If it's not work it must be play: discussions on the state of work in the arts.  Famous for their strategy work with companies such as LEGO, Intel, Samsung, and Adidas, ReD Associates approaches business challenges with a methodology that employs tools and theories from the human sciences - anthropology, sociology, philosophy and psychology.  In a dialogue focusing on the challenges of creative practice, Madsbjerg will discuss his methodology and share his perspectives on the problems of business in the arts.  From the deepened perspective of human behavior and a view of implicit cultural attitudes, we will attempt to define long term strategies for the arts community, and answer the question: is it work, or is it play?

ABOUT ReD Associates
Who We Are
ReD Associates is a strategy consultancy. The anthropologists, sociologists, economists, journalists, and designers who make up ReD employ the methods of social science to study human behavior and help our clients develop a perspective on their business.

Our teams in Copenhagen and New York work together to develop deep insights into how and why consumers make decisions. We use these insights both to see the world in more compassionate and complex ways—and to identify new opportunities for our clients.

We benefit hugely from having a very international staff: Our diversity of perspectives enables us to ask culturally relevant questions and explore the world in open-ended ways.

In our practice we employ methods and ways of thinking from two domains—social scientific practices from ethnography, market analysis from traditional business practice—to provide clients with clear and comprehensive directions for moving forward.

What We Do
Companies tend to come to us when they’re on the verge on something new. Some are entering a different or emerging area of the market and they’re not sure how to proceed; others simply need a next-gen version of what they already produce.

We know numbers get you only so far. Standard techniques work for standard problems because there’s a clear benefit from being measured and systematic. But when companies are on the verge of something new or uncertain—identifying and understanding changes in customer behavior, revitalizing antiquated products, fixing broken sales models, giving a direction to “innovation,” or rethinking a long-term strategy—those existing formulas aren’t easily applied.

This program is the sixth in the series If it's not work it must be PLAY: discussions on the state of work in the arts. This series is presented by CUE, and produced by our inaugural Public Programming Fellow, Cevan Castle.