Artist residencies as specialist accommodation: cultural entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose Artist residencies comprise a unique accommodation type and a form of cultural entrepreneurship which remains overlooked from a hospitality perspective. This exploratory study aims to examine the phenomenon of artist residencies as specialist accommodation, as well as their operators’ motives as cultural entrepreneurs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Creation theory is used to explore how artist residency operators create entrepreneurial opportunities. Design/methodology/approach Asynchronous email interviews were conducted with 20 artist residency operators from 18 countries. Purposive sampling was used to select interviewees and thematic analysis to analyze the primary data. Findings The results showed that with few exceptions, artist residencies address all criteria of specialist accommodation, and that social interactions among artists and operators are fundamental in running an artist residency. From a cultural entrepreneurship perspective, most of the operators declared that their priorities were to promote artistic creativity and cultural knowledge exchange, confirming the main elements of creation theory. Practical implications Managerial implications are discussed to enhance the resilience of artist residencies and strengthen their financial viability, as well as to support them to overcome the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value This study extends the hospitality literature by adding the artist residencies to the existing types of specialist accommodation. It also examines creation theory and concludes that artistic creativity and cultural networks are prominent in artist residency entrepreneurial activities.