The not-so-mythical poor, suffering artist
10 March 2025
The archetypal artist sits in a Parisian garret, writing love poems, and drinking wine. The (very stereotypical) image of a 'creative' in 2025 is slightly different: a beanie-wearer working at a Macbook in an independent coffee shop. But they face the same challenge: balancing the pursuit of artistic freedom with stable, secure, and fairly paid work.
Around 7.8 million Europeans worked in the cultural and creative sector in 2023. Among them: musicians, artists, designers, dancers, journalists, and more. Half of the respondents to the European-wide Creative Pulse report in 2024 said that they experience poor working conditions, such as abusive subcontracting, false self-employment, underpaid or unpaid work, and coercive contracts.
A third reported that their freedom of expression has been limited somewhat, by funding that depends on political alignment or legal actions against them for offending religious or national symbols. In Germany, an artists' support group spoke about how artists fear losing jobs and opportunities when speaking out against the Israeli government.
Employment in the field is not evenly spread across the EU: Northern and Western Europe benefit from more cultural workers, whereas Southern and Eastern Europe have lower proportions. Economic security seems to be a big determinant of artistic success.
Those who move from poorer regions to cultural hotspots may still face differences in pay compared to the locals. In the Netherlands, where there's the highest proportion of cultural workers, a recent study highlighted that women and people with migration backgrounds earn less than men and non-migrants across the creative sector.
 | Laoise Murray The Creative Pulse survey calls on the EU to create a European-wide status for creative professionals - a definition of 'creative' that applies across the Union. This makes administration easier for creatives when moving between countries and sets the stage for minimum working standards across the region. In 2026, the Commission will start formulating an updated work plan for culture. Perhaps member states can take inspiration from Ireland, where a Basic Income for the Arts pilot scheme pays artists €325 per week, no strings attached. Recipients have reported improved financial stability, better mental health and greater artistic freedom. Without patronage systems like this, we may never have had the Mona Lisa (as rich, private patrons paid for Leonardo Da Vinci), nor the 20,000 visitors she receives per day, to the benefit of France. |
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