Time for change: working freelance in creativity and culture

I AM MY OWN PRIMAL PARENT - KARST (Copyright - Dom Moore)

“As we launch the Freelance : Futures symposium to discuss how we improve the support for and position of individuals working in creativity and culture, our Chief Executive Darren Henley explains why the time is now and the role we all have to play in bringing about change.

Here at the Arts Council, we have a vision. A vision that this country will be one in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish.  

If we’re to achieve this vision that we set out in our ten-year strategy Let’s Create, then it’s vital that everybody, no matter who they are or where they come from, can pursue a career in the arts, in museums or in libraries if that is their calling in life.  

But as we set out in our Delivery Plan for 2021-24, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a particularly devastating impact on many of the individual creative and cultural practitioners at the heart of creative production in this country. And it’s individuals from the communities who have historically had the least access to public funding for culture that have been hardest hit. Many have left the sector, and together we’re now faced with the task of not only retaining the best talent that remains, but also bringing in new talent that reflects the wide range of backgrounds that make England such a vibrant place to live. 

In a sector where 49% of the workforce are freelance, it’s vital then that it is both a viable and an attractive proposition for people choosing this career pathway. One where, if you work freelance, you are well paid and well valued for your contribution, where you’re able to invest in your creative and professional development, and where you have a seat at the same table as organisations when it comes to debating and setting the agenda for the future of creativity and culture in our country. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: the cultural sector is only as strong as the talent of the individuals who work in it.”