Dance and cultural capital

public funding policies and the reconversion of capitals in the economy of symbolic goods

Abstract

The article investigates the relationships between economy, cultural policies, and symbolic capital within the field of dance, taking as its theoretical framework Baumol’s Cost Disease and Bourdieu’s concept of Cultural Capital. Systems of public funding and subsidies for artistic production are understood as instruments designed to address the structural inefficiency of “stagnant industries,” but they also operate as mechanisms for the legitimation and institutionalization of specific cultural values. The analysis highlights aspects of dance-related public policies in the city of São Paulo to examine how they affect the production and reconversion of the different forms of capital involved in the artistic field. The study shows that, although such policies contribute to mitigating the economic effects of the Cost Disease, they often reproduce restricted circuits of validation, which calls for a revision of funding strategies so that they may be oriented not only toward artistic creation, but also toward effectively expanding the dynamics of cultural circulation and participation within society.