Study on artists’ working conditions published

The study looks at characteristics of employment of artists and cultural and creative professionals in EU Member States with regard to:

• artist status and entitlements
• social security
• self-employment
• support ecosystems and alternative financing
• artistic freedom
• career development
• measures countering the Covid crisis

The European Commission conducted this study in close collaboration with several sectoral stakeholder organisations:

• Culture Action Europe (CAE)
• The International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts (IETM)
• On The Move
• PEARLE - Live Performance Europe
• Freemuse

Main findings of the report

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.

Find out more about these in the report

Background

The study builds upon a number of earlier initiatives:

• The 2012 OMC report proposing key principles for building and maintaining a strong framework to support the mobility of artists and cultural professionals
• a stock-taking meeting on the same topic in 2016
• the 2018 OMC group on innovation and entrepreneurship in the Culture and Creative Sectors, which recommends to look closer at working conditions.

One of the five priority themes of the Council Work Plan for Culture 2019-2022 is

An ecosystem supporting artists, cultural and creative professionals and European content.

The study is part of this priority theme. 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.