Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the notion of art as a product. This paper develops a detailed understanding of how established visual artists engage with the notion in their art making and market interactions, drawing insight from the longitudinal debate on the essence of art, including its connection with entrepreneurial marketing.

Design/methodology/approach: The authors uses a conceptual framework involving artists’ and other stakeholders’ philosophical positions, artists’ career stages, reputation (including branding), market associations and the forms of value generated by artists and consumers to help shape their qualitative research design involving in-depth interviews with 16 established Australian artists. NVivo software aided data analysis to improve theory building.

Findings: Market orientation, entrepreneurial market creation, co-creation, co-production activities and sharing value among interested stakeholders are important factors in viewing art as a commercial product. Sustainable value creation is also crucial. Key emergent themes were motivation to create, engagement with the market and artists’ attitudes towards art as a product. This paper identifies a fluidity in the relationship between an artist and their art.

Research limitations/implications: Co-creation, co-production and sharing value among interested stakeholders are important factors as are market orientation versus entrepreneurial market creation activities. Sustainable value creation is also crucial. Key emergent themes were motivation to create, engagement with the market and artists’ attitudes towards art as a product.

Practical implications: Established artists have made a conscious decision to engage, or otherwise with the marketplace. This research uncovers the merits of adopting a product approach in engaging with the market and artist centred creation which avoids marketplace interaction.

Originality/value: This research has the potential to contribute to policy decision-making in the sector and in stimulating future comparative research. There are wider implications for the cultural and creative industries where entrepreneurial market creation can stimulate creativity and innovation.