Finding the voice of freelancers

The University of Essex wants to hear from people who work as a cultural or creative freelancer in England.

Academics from Essex Business School and East 15 Acting School are carrying out a study on behalf of Arts Council England, which aims to understand the working conditions and experiences of freelancers working in the creative and cultural sector in England.

For the first time, Arts Council England is building a picture of the freelance workforce in all the disciplines it supports.

To launch the study, a survey has been released which invites current freelancers, or those who have freelanced in the past, to share their experiences of working in combined arts, dance, literature, libraries, museums, music, theatre, and the visual arts.

The results of the survey, and the wider research project which will involve interviews and focus groups, is part of Arts Council England’s commitment to increasing support for creative and cultural freelancers and will inform it's understanding of freelancers’ experience of working in the sector.

The research team at Essex are Professor Melissa Tyler and Professor Philip Hancock from Essex Business School, and Professor Rosemary Klich, Dr Holly Maples and Dr Clio Unger from East 15.

Professor Tyler, Director of the Centre for Work, Organisation and Society (CWOS) and Co-director of the Future of Creative Work Group, is the project lead. She said: 

“We are delighted to be leading this survey and research project which will help shape Arts Council England’s policy and planning for the next three years, making sure that support is targeted where it is most needed.

“It builds on insights from a five-year project that we are also collaborating on with Freelancers Make Theatre Work, broadening the focus of their Big Freelancer Survey to cover all of the disciplines supported by Arts Council England.

“We really want to use this project to give freelancers a voice.”

Michelle Dickson, Director, Strategy for Arts Council England, said: “The creativity and innovation of freelancers play an integral part in fuelling the cultural sector and wider creative industries and we’re really looking forward to hearing about their experience.

“By taking part in this survey, they will be helping us to understand the opportunities and challenges that they are facing, which will help us at the Arts Council develop better policies and advocate for a fairer and more sustainable future for workers across the cultural sector.”

The survey, which was launched earlier this week, can be filled in until 31 October 2023. It takes about 20 minutes to complete and can be started and then submitted at any time until the deadline.

To receive the survey in an accessible format, please email Melissa Tyler.