Institution/Business Type Definitions

The Institution/Business Type = the type of entity as defined by its overall mission/goals for work (i.e. how you/your organization participate in the Creative Economy)

We’ve organized the I/B Types into groupings, to demonstrate the interdependent arts and culture ecosystem and to help users navigate searching the site and the profile creation process.

Creation / Production

Individuals and entities that create or produce arts/cultural goods or services.

• Advertising / Marketing Agency: A business that exists to assist others with expanding their reach through marketing
• Architecture Firm: A firm dedicated to providing architecture services
• Art Studio: Physical space where more than one artist works together on a common project
• Artist/Creative (Individual): One who creates, performs, or interprets works of art as a profession
• Design Agency: Firms that provide design services
• Electronic Publication: Literary publications such as blogs, online periodicals or magazines, or websites dedicated to arts/culture such as event coverage and reviews
• Film / Video Business: Entities that provide film-making or video-recording services for others, or self-produce documentaries or films
• Independent press: A publisher or printing press which issues small editions of literary and other works
• Literary Magazine: A non-commercial, numbered, serial publication devoted to contemporary poetry, fiction, drama, or literary criticism.
• Makerspace: Spaces with creative tools and equipment for makers to use; some require paid membership to have access, but they are not necessarily cooperative.
• Manufacturer (Creative Product): Organizations or individuals that fabricate creative goods, e.g. mills
• Mobile / Video Game Business: A business that produces video games or applications for mobile devices
• Newspaper       
• Performing Group: Group of artists who perform works of art (e.g., an orchestra,
• theatre, or dance group)
• Periodical: A periodical publication (include magazines, journals, newsletters, etc.; not daily or weekly newspapers)
• Radio Station    
• Recording Studio: A business that offers recording services in a studio setting for music other than their own
• Television Station: Entities such as community access television stations

Distribution (Creative Entity)

Creative entities that distribute arts/cultural goods, services and experiences (e.g. by hiring artists).

• Arts Center: A multi-purpose facility for arts programming of various types, including performances, classes, workshops, etc.
• Cinema: A motion picture theatre or organization which regularly shows films.
• Cultural Series Organization: An organization whose primary purpose is presentation of single arts events or cultural series
• Fair / Festival: An organization that runs a seasonal program of arts events
• Gallery / Exhibition Space: An organization or space which primarily exhibits works of art from collections other than its own, and may be involved in selling those works.
• Library 
• Museum – Art: An organization essentially educational or aesthetic in purpose with professional staff, which owns or utilizes works of art, cares for them, and exhibits them to the public in some regular schedule.
• Museum – Other: An organization essentially educational or aesthetic in purpose with professional staff, which owns or utilizes tangible objects, cares for them, and exhibits them to the public in some regular schedule (e.g., non-arts organizations such as historical, agricultural, scientific, industrial, and anthropological museums; zoos; aquariums; and arboretums).
• Performance Facility: A building or space used for presenting concerts, drama presentations, etc.
• Retail Store (Creative Product): A storefront that sells cultural goods, such as a bookstore, arts supply store, theater costumes, etc.

Distribution (Related Entity)

Entities that are not creative in their mission, but distribute arts/cultural goods, services and experiences (e.g. by hiring artists).

• Coffeehouse / Restaurant / Nightclub: A food/entertainment entity that offers cultural programming in the form of rotating gallery exhibits or a concert/reading series.
• Community Service Organization: A non-arts organization designed to improve the lives of its membership and larger community with an arts/creative/cultural program
• Health Care Facility: Hospital and doctor’s office directly focused on improving health through arts services.
• Parks and Recreation Dept: Usually a municipal agency which provides a wide variety of experiences for the population, such as concerts, plays, and participatory activities (e.g., ceramics, macramé, and other crafts).
• Religious Organization: Church/synagogue/mosque with cultural programming, which should be identified in the Profile Name.
• School (K-12 Arts Program / Department): Arts, humanities, or cultural program or department at non-arts K-12 school
• School Committee: Volunteer arts committee within a school or school district
• Senior Center: A facility or organization offering programs, care or services for people age 65 and over with a specific cultural series or program
• Social Services Organization: Governmental or private agency designed to provide services addressing specific social issues that use arts and cultural programs and services to serve its populations

Education / Training

Entities that train in creative skills.

• Arts Camp / Institute (short-term experience): An organization dedicated to camps, institutes or in-depth experiences for limited time duration (e.g., a children's summer music camp).
• School (Higher Ed Arts Program / Department): Arts, humanities, or cultural program or department at non-arts higher ed institutions
• School of the Arts: Any school which has arts education as its primary educational mission. Include magnet schools for the arts, community arts schools, conservatories, schools for the artistically gifted, etc.

Support (Creative Entity)

Creative individuals and entities that support the people and places that create with professional resources, including expertise.

• Artist Booking / Management Agency: An organization that manages artists and assists them with bookings and general administration as needed.
• Artist Colony: A mission-driven community that hosts artists for residencies and training
• Arts Council / Agency: An organization whose primary purpose is to stimulate and promote the arts and increase access for the public through services, programs, and/or funding within a specific geographic area (e.g., county, state, local).
• Arts Service Organization: An organization that has as its central function the provision of services that assist or promote the arts and/or arts organizations. Not to include presenters or producers of the arts or regional arts organizations.
• Cultural Heritage Organization: Organizations that promote and facilitate learning about a specific culture
• Guild / Union / Professional Association: Artist coalitions, professional associations (such as the American Association of University Professors), and all artists' clubs, guilds, and societies
• Historical Society / Commission: A historical "society" is an organization dedicated to the study and preservation of the history of a town or region, usually owning a collection of documents and/or artifacts and frequently based in a historic building; a historical "commission" is an arm of local government, usually volunteer, charged with the survey of historic buildings in a town or region.
• Humanities Council / Agency: An organization whose primary purpose is to stimulate and promote the humanities through services, programs, and/or funding, within a specific geographic area (e.g., county, state, local).
• Record Label: A publishing company that coordinates production, distribution, marketing, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos

Support (Related Entity)

Individuals and entities outside the creative sector that support the people and places that create with professional resources, including expertise.

• Business Service Organization: An entity that provides business support functions and specialist professional services to the creative sector
• Foundation / Endowed Organization: An endowed organization which dispenses funds for designated philanthropic purposes (include charitable trusts and corporate foundations).
• Government Department: Government arts office or official department
• Individual - Non-Artist: Technical consultant or educator
• Tourism Office: Office that promote tourism and direct visitors to cultural programs/events

NEFA has been refining the ways to define the people and places of the Creative Economy since 1978, and it continues to be a learning process. Contact us if you have any suggestions, questions or comments about these I/B Types and groupings, especially if you feel that the current options do not accurately reflect your creative enterprise.