The economy remains a rationalising tool for explaining the condition of the artist, both for professional and for experts, even when this implies a form of dissociation between the artist and the economist. Focusing on the relationship between art and the market removes entire sections of the social imagination and aesthetic sides linked to art. This two-volume ethnographic work provides answers to what appears to be a mysterious phenomenon, young people's vocation for art, by focusing on real-life situations and testimonials in a critical perspective.

This second volumes expands on the findings of the first, which explored the lives and careers of young artists, by exploring their early-carreer and the other professionals that exist in the creative industries, associative worlds and art world. Professionals, working in galleries, theatres and as gatekeepers in privileged cultural institutions, are essential to frame the entrepreneurial success promised to young artists if they play by their rules. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of the arts economy, work and employment and entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Elen Riot is a Full Professor in the Laboratoire d’Économie Dyonisien (LED) in the Université de Paris 8-Vincennes, France. Her research explores strategy, art and representations.