Regional cultural foundations’s roles for promoting sustainability of local artists and arts organizations: Applying the concept of triple-bottom line

The number of artists and arts organizations in regional metropolitan areas like Busan has declined, while those in Greater Seoul area including Incheon and Gyeonggi Province have increased. This disparity underscores a growing threat to the sustainability of local artists and arts organizations outside Greater Seoul. With culturla decentralization gaining prominence, regional cultural foundations have emerged as critical policy actors in addressing this issue. However, there has been a lack of macro-policy discussions on how these foundations can support the sustainability of local artists and arts organizations. This study aims to examine the role of regional cultural foundations in promoting the sustainability by examining the case of the Busan Cultural Foundation through the lens of Wyszomirski’s Triple-Bottom Line (TBL) framework. The foundation has developed a variety of grant programs aligned with the three pillars of TBL—artistic vitality, financial sustainability, and public benefits. While many programs are designed to address income gaps under the financial sustainability pillar, they often lack strategies to enhance fundraising capacities or diversify revenue streams. This finding highlights the need for program redesign to strengthen financial self-sufficiency and encourage engagement in broader market alongside the arts sector to ensure long-term sustainability. Moreover, a significant gap persists between the implementation of these programs and the actual sustainability experienced by the local arts community. To bridge this divide, it is imperative to adopt more diverse and innovative support mechanisms that empower local artists and arts organizations to independently achieve a balanced approach to the TBL. Moving beyond mere funding stabilization and administrative improvement, these mechanisms should aim to equip the local arts ecosystem with tools necessary for enduring growth and resilience.