European inventory of
societal values of culture

EENCA - The Status and Working Conditions of Artists and Cultural and Creative Professionals

EENCA (2018) The Status and Working Conditions of Artists and Cultural and Creative Professionals. European Expert Network on Culture and Audiovisual (EENCA).

The nature of cultural work is changing rapidly. This comprehensive report offers an overview of the key ways in which the changing working conditions of artists and cultural professionals are shaped by wider economic, technological, and political arrangements.

The report states that artists and cultural professionals are more likely than other parts of the economy to be self-employed, freelance, work part-time, or not have a permanent contract. Moreover, unpaid labour is very common in the arts sector. All this means that artists and cultural professionals are often excluded from or only partially covered by social security protection. As a result, they are very often in search of or engaged in secondary jobs, either in arts- or non-arts-related fields. This search often leads them to cross-border mobility, which is often a central component of the professional trajectory of their careers.

The report also offers an overview of different policy measures taken by cultural policymakers to combat such an unsupportive working environment. These measures include grants, tax incentives and breaks, and similar ones. In this and other respects, the report can be said to be a good starting point for exploring the world of artistic and cultural work.