Myyntityötä ja osallistumisen säätelyä

In this paper, we investigate the professional practices of hybrid artist-developers in contemporary working life. More specifically, we focus on a case where an artist instructs a theatre-based exercise in workplace training and study what kinds of skills it requires from the artist to act in this role outside the conventional art institutions. By utilizing the concept of sales work and investigating both the verbal and embodied resources in the design of the artists’ turn, we show how the position of the artist is both multifaceted and challenging. While inviting the audience members to participate in the exercise and directing its proceeding, the artist needs to constantly present the exercise in a favorable light – to “sell” it – as well as to reshape her actions according to the demands and turn-by-turn unfolding of the situation. We also show how the trainees can, for their part, regulate their participation in the exercise.