Fast, short-lived and exclusive: Rethinking arts policy in accelerated time

Abstract

The article argues that performing-arts production and circulation are structured by institutionally produced and politically mediated dynamics of acceleration. Using Portugal as a primary case within broader European trends, it examines the rationales behind these patterns, including short production runs and limited lifespans. It shows that public policy focused on new creation weakens diffusion; competitive funding generates pressures for ever-faster production; project-based logics shorten the lifespan of works; and venue ownership and scale constrain alternative modes of dissemination. The result is an ecology in which acceleration becomes structural, driven by policy settings that reinforce these temporal pressures rather than mitigating them, generating far-reaching artistic, social and political consequences.