Maclab
Management of Arts and Culture laboratory

Venice, sunset on the lagoon, Photo by GS, 2023.

The laboratory of Management of Arts and Culture

maclab, Management Arts Culture Laboratory

History

Maclab is a research centre of the Department of Management, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Maclab was founded in 2009 at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice as a meeting place for research and teaching activities at the crossroads of management, creativity and cultural productions.
Today, it groups over 20 scholars from the Ca’ Foscari Departments of Management and Philosophy, 2 international affiliates and a growing number of Ph.D students, research assistants and junior research fellows sharing an interest for the arts, culture and creativity in a managerial perspective.

Mission

Anchored in economics and management knowledge, maclab extends its multidisciplinary reach to the manifold understandings and professional interests that mobilize notions of “culture”, “art” and, more recently, “creativity”, by designing and conducting research projects in this variegated field.
Applications range from the exploration of the managerial dimension of cultural productions and creative industries, to the exploration of the artistic and creative expressions in the business world.

Research approach

Its research approach is characterized by interdisciplinarity and by an action and practice-based approach, in strong relation with the cultural, business and political actors that make up both its object of research and its main recipient.

Events

Maclab organizes seminars, conferences and other events on the management of art and culture regularly. For more information please visit the webpage Events.

Call for papers for the 6th workshop “Rethinking Culture and Creativity - RCC 2026”

The call for papers is now open for the 6th edition of the international workshop “Rethinking Culture and Creativity”, which will take place in Venice (Campus San Giobbe, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) on 29-30 October 2026. "From Global Crises to Local Actions. Shaping the Future of Culture”: the workshop explores how global crises are reshaping cultural systems and how cultural and creative sectors can foster resilience, inclusion, and sustainable development, also in light of the transformations driven by artificial intelligence.
Deadline for abstract submission (max. 500 words): 10 June 2026.
The workshop is hosted by the Venice School of Management and the Department of Economics at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, with the support of MACLAB - Management of Art and Culture Laboratory and BLISS - Digital Impact Lab.

Ongoing projects

Culture 2.0

Scientific coordinator: Monica Calcagno
Funding programme: EramusPlus Project
Duration of the project: da febbraio 2022 a dicembre 2023