Jonathan Gunson

Jonathan’s academic qualifications include a Master of Arts in Arts and Heritage: Policy, Management and Education from Maastricht University, and prior to that a Master of Arts (Divinity) with Honours from the University of Edinburgh. In addition to his academic qualifications, Jonathan has work experience in research within Cultural Policy, most recently completed a Traineeship at the European Parliament in Brussels at the Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services working in the Structural Policies Unit and focusing on Cultural Policy. Jonathan also has a range of work experience in the arts, for example, at a variety of festivals.

I am looking at arts philanthropy, and whether it can provide a new funding model for arts organisations. In a climate of cuts to public funding of the arts and culture, there is a need for organisations within the sector to seek alternative sources of revenue. One potential source of funding is arts philanthropy. The research will investigate arts philanthropy as an emergent funding source for arts organisations, looking at the landscape of arts philanthropy in Europe. It will look at the arts organisations, the methods of philanthropic funding, and the different national and international policy environment.