Talent, skill, and ability form the conceptual basis of terms to do with sharing such as talent donation, skill sharing, intelligence funding, smart volunteering, and pro-bono service. Talent donation is a volunteer service concerned with intangible d...
Talent, skill, and ability form the conceptual basis of terms to do with sharing such as talent donation, skill sharing, intelligence funding, smart volunteering, and pro-bono service. Talent donation is a volunteer service concerned with intangible donations. Furthermore, it goes beyond the provision of simple labor to provide individual talent, which allows individuals to contribute to the society in a novel fashion. Recently our society is experiencing a paradigm shift in volunteerism wherein donations based on talent are being emphasized. Various forms of media report on the talent donation activities of celebrities while the government is actively implementing policies where the focus of sharing is talent donation.
The term ‘cultural art talent donation’ is concerned with both the cultural art domain and the social services domain. ‘Talent donation’ is a paradigm shift in social services and volunteerism methodology based on the conceptual basis of talent while as ‘cultural art talent donation’ can be seen as a voluntary movement which focuses this shift to the cultural art domain in order to bolster creativity. The ultimate goal of cultural welfare is the improvement of the quality of life of its citizens by furthering their mental well-being. Talent donation is placed as an integral component of this effort as an attempt to promote the cultural arts by utilizing the resources of the private sector. Korea’s cultural art policy was initially focused on the artists’ activities but has expanded to incorporate the consumers of these arts. In current times, these policies have expanded further to develop from a one-sided consumption to a participatory cultural experience. Moreover, the drivers of cultural art policies are shifting from the government to the private sector with an emphasis on spontaneity. Talent donation activities are by nature spontaneous and thus are at the core of this trend.
There are various forms of cultural art talent donation based on the agent and target, the members and tendencies of the groups involved, the purpose and size of donation, and the method of transference. An individual or a group can take voluntary action to participate in cultural art donations or corporations and governments may collaborate to set up projects. Moreover, members from various forms of arts may cooperate in these activities. This research classifies talent donation into arbitrary forms based on the agents and the method of transference. These classifications are as follows: ‘from cultural arts domain,’ ‘to the cultural arts domain,’ ‘brokerage by government or corporations,’ and ‘indirect donation.’ This paper will look into the relationships among the private sector, the government, and the cultural art sector by focusing on the characteristics of each classification and by analyzing exemplary cases.
Talent donation is being actively performed by various agents, and the government is focusing on talent donation in the cultural art policy domain as well. However, there are problems inherent in talent donation as it is being run as a public offering. The concept and scope of talent donation, the continuous execution and spontaneity of such activities, problems of the support structure, the quality of the programs, the dependency of professional artist groups on the government are the issues covered in this paper. In light of such issues, this paper suggests methods in which the private and public sectors can corporate to integrate more structure to talent donation. Firstly, the government should focus on the big-picture of institutionalization and continuation of talent donation through campaigns and social activities. Secondly, the governments’ talent donation support efforts should concentrate on public interest while being indirect. It should also aim to produce original and creative programs. Thirdly, the concept of talent donation should not be limited to philanthropy but should be expanded to create an environment that promotes a horizontal exchange of talents. Fourthly, since the success of talent donation is anchored in continued support efforts, more local professional institutions that guarantees after service and assessment should be established. Fifthly, experts in other fields should be actively recruited to bolster the creative environment of the cultural arts sector. Such efforts will allow better management at cultural art institutions thereby aiding individuals to donate their cultural art talents.
Cultural art talent donation is a utilization of private resources for the actualization of cultural welfare. Therefore it can be seen as an active participation in the cultural art domain. The goal of such talent donation is to voluntarily share one’s cultural art talents through the mechanism of donation and sharing. Simple and narrow-scoped public welfare policies or policies that are no more than public propaganda cannot rid of the partition and conflict in our society. The voluntary cultural arts sharing by the private sector allows individuals to experience the joy of expressing their creativity through direct participation. They will feel the joy of life and gain motivation through expressing their innate artistic qualities while understanding and merging with one another. Cultural art donation should become a joint effort of the private and public sectors to promote cultural art creation and enjoyment. Taking on this direction will allow the social integration of the civil society.