Art and Culture as Central Place Functions

Data on artists by location in 1970 and 1980, and on the non-profit theatre sector in 1988-89, indicate that art and culture are pre-eminently central place functions. The concentration of performing artists into large metropolitan areas increased from 1970 to 1980, while that of painters and sculptors diminished. New York and Los Angeles are the top locations for performing artists, although Los Angeles is largely a centre for mass media production rather than live production. Other studies cited in this paper indicate that local market structure in the non-profit theatre strongly affects artistic policy, supporting Chinitz's emphasis on the importance of supply-side factors in urban studies.