Practice (mis)matching: multiple performations of a cultural sponsorship network

This paper is set in the context of a yearlong cultural programme and the relations initiated and developed (or not) between the organisers and their sponsors. Empirically we are set in 2014, and Limerick’s year as Irish National City of Culture. Theoretically, we consider the particular dynamics arising from the (sets of) sponsorship relationship dyads, where each party frames the interaction in different ways. Taking a case study approach the paper examines multiple sponsorships operating during the CoC year. The findings point to multiple time frames, offerings, and narratives operating between managers on both side of the dyad. As such the ‘relationship(s)’ under study are each considered multiple, that is, they are practiced and performed differently by the different actors involved. The paper contributes to the theory and practice of sponsorship by identifying how managers, on both sides of the dyad coordinate the mismatches that this context can trigger.