Art-Based Learning in Business in Mainland China

Abstract

This study is based on investigations, research and practices of art-based learning in businesses of Mainland China. Using Otto Sharmer’s learning and innovation U-Theory model, and on the basis of the author’s own practice, it is proposed that art-based learning presented by artists has been helping entrepreneurs and their teams enhance connections with themselves, each other, and the environment. The application of arts to businesses demonstrates a growing social trend of recognizing the spiritual value of humans and the increasing importance of the construction of ecological organizations, as well as the structuring and formation of social fields, all of which are beneficial to relationships and productivity in a wide range of industries. This article further discusses the two difficulties artists often encounter when they enter corporations, namely, research and practical application on the front lines, and development of rational thinking and useful tools in order to strengthen the long-term effects of the participants’ experiences from artistic workshops, solve real-life problems, and generate meaningful results.

Keywords

• art-based learning
• corporation
• artists
• entrepreneurs
• u-theory