Examining the scholarly literature: A bibliometric study of journal articles related to sustainability and the arts

Abstract

The Arts shows great promise in working toward a sustainable future as they can have a significant influence on the development of cultural norms. Using bibliometrics, this study uncovers the current body of scholarly literature related to the intersection of sustainability and the Arts. The results show that while there are very few articles (n = 77) published in scholarly journals related to this area, the number of manuscripts and the number of journals publishing manuscripts related to this subject area is increasing. Further, while there is no one individual who stands out to date as a leader in this field, the results show that Australia and Canada have produced the most published articles. Finally, this study demonstrates that scholarly articles related to the Arts and sustainability are mostly being published in well-established interdisciplinary sustainability-related journals and journals associated with the field of education for sustainable development. The results of this study give a more definitive answer to the question: what scholarly literature resources currently exist on the intersection of the Arts and sustainability and offers the scholarly community a better idea of what and how those involved in this area are publishing and mobilizing knowledge regarding their work.