Voices of culture

A new call for applications has been launched for artists and creatives that looks at the struggles and opportunities industry professionals face. Voices of Culture is the structured dialogue between the European Commission and its cultural sector. It is funded by the European Union and currently implemented by Goethe-Institut Brussels.

The fourth topic of Voices of Culture 2019 – 2021 will ask questions about the challenges and opportunities for the status and working conditions of artists and others in the cultural sector. How can new priorities, policies, actions and funding streams better address this issue?

The call is open to representatives of the cultural and creative sectors with relevant expertise on the topic Status and Working Conditions of Artists and Cultural and Creative Professionals who would like to contribute to discussions with the European Commission. Those applying must be from one of the 27 EU Member States.

Pre-Covid-19, the cultural and creative sectors were already characterised by fragile working practices. A fragmented organisation of creative value chains, often project-based and precarious work, non-profit character of many activities and (often not well-remunerated) IP-based revenue and income models are only a few of the elements contributing to this.

The Covid-19 crisis is causing immense losses in revenue opportunities and possibilities to perform art and cultural activities, with the more fragile players suffering the most. Longer-term effects relate to changes in cultural demand and engagement, the need for skills to cope with the new situation, risks of exacerbation of inequalities within the sector, brain drain from the sector and impoverishment of the diversity of expression.

To strengthen the sectors, it is essential to keep developing sustainable business models and to work on building an ecosystem that ensures decent living and working conditions for artists and cultural and creative professionals.

Successful applicants will be invited to a Digital Brainstorming Meeting on April 27-28 and to a dialogue meeting in Brussels on 29 June 2021 (digitally, if applicable) to share their input on several areas of discussion.

Voices of Culture participants will write a Brainstorming Report after the Brainstorming Meeting. In this report, the results of the discussion between participants at the Brainstorming Meeting will be expressed. This report will then be presented by participants to the European Commission at the Dialogue Meeting.

Voices of Culture

Application deadline: February 21 through the website voicesofculture.eu Announcement of results: March 8. For more information: [email protected]