The European Commission and stakeholders have published a study in December 2020 that sheds light on the status and working conditions of artists, cultural and creative professionals.
The study looks at characteristics of employment of artists and cultural and creative professionals in EU Member States with regards to artist status and entitlements, social security, self-employment, support ecosystems and alternative financing, artistic freedom, career development and measures countering the Covid crisis.
The study makes it clear that it is mainly up to Member States to improve working conditions for artists. The study recommends that the European Commission should collect and disseminate good practice and inform Member States of policies and measures that are available to those working in the Culture and Creative Sectors.
“An ecosystem supporting artists, cultural and creative professionals and European content” is one of the five priority themes of the Council Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022.
The European Commission is organising the following events in 2021 to continue the work:
– a Voices of Culture civil society group meeting
– an Open Method of Coordination (OMC) Member States expert group meeting.
Culture Action Europe had organized an expert consultation on the issue in February 2020, in cooperation with Panteia, one of the organizations commissioned to write the study.
Also, IAA Europe had participated in the process of the study with an interview with focus on the conditions in the Visual Arts sector.