IPOL | Policy Department for Structural and Cohesion Policies
WORKING CONDITIONS OF ARTISTS AND CULTURAL WORKERS ACROSS EUROPE KEY FINDINGS This chapter identifies the main characteristics of the working conditions of artists and cultural workers across Europe. • • • •
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The coexistence of multiple definitions of ‘artist’ hinders a unified recognition of their labour status. Although there is a general acknowledgement of specific labour characteristics of the artists, none of the existing texts addresses them holistically. The multiple nature of artists’ income sources (regular employment, self-employment, copyright, grants and subsidies, loans), combined with a fractured labour market, often leads to low income levels and precariousness. The high mobility of cultural workers and artists is accompanied by a lack of unified regulations or policy coordination regarding taxes, social security, minimum wage, recognition of diplomas, and related access to funding and up-to-date information on these issues. The digital environment has created specific challenges related to cultural production and distribution, monetisation and fair remuneration of digital activities, and maintenance of cultural diversity. Career transitions are common among artists, but there is a generalised lack of support beyond educational institutions. The sector is characterised by persistent inequalities and increased risk of exclusion related to gender, disabilities, ageism, racism and xenophobia. This is reflected in the trend towards digital homogeneity. Restrictions to freedom of artistic expression and precariousness endanger human rights protection. The atypical forms of employment of artists require specific policy responses to ensure social protection, career development and skills upgrading pathways, in particular in the face of the COVID-19 crisis.
Artists’ Status
The 1980 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist defines an ‘artist’ as “any person who creates or gives creative expression to, or re-creates works of art, who considers his [sic] artistic creation to be an essential part of his life, who contributes in this way to the development of art and culture and who is or asks to be recognized as an artist, whether or not he is bound by any relations of employment of association.” In the European Union, the coexistence of multiple definitions of ‘artist’ used by Member States hinders the implementation of the UNESCO Recommendation. There are five main
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