While arts management developed as a subject field within business administration in the Anglo‐American world several decades ago, it is only recently that it has started to establish itself in the Nordic countries. However, the increased focus on the administrative and financial aspects of artistic activity which the arts management tradition seems to embody may be interpreted as being a threat to the autonomy of art, and an illustration of ongoing dedifferentiation processes. In this article, I will question whether the increased emphasis on the financial and administrative aspects in the management of art institutions should primarily be interpreted as resulting from differentiation or dedifferentiation. Empirically, the article will be based on a case study of a large Norwegian theatre. The article will show how the border area between what is seen as the artistic domain, on the one hand, and the economic and administrative domain, on the other, is established and reproduced through dominant discourse...