AMA Freelance Benchmarking Survey 2020 — report

To help us produce resources on best practice and to develop support to help arts, culture and heritage freelancers in their roles we launched our first Freelance Benchmarking Survey in January 2020. As the sector adapts to working in a Covid-19 landscape the findings of this survey will help the AMA pinpoint key ways to enhance our support for freelancers and develop a route map to a successful career. 

https://www.culturehive.co.uk/AMAresource/ama-freelance-benchmarking-survey-2020-report/ 

Building Back Better? Creative Freelancers and Learning from the Covid-19 Experience 

Throughout the pandemic, IER and Coventry University undertook research into the contribution of creative freelancers to the economic and place-based impacts of the creative industries. 

https://pure.coventry.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/40065818 

Creating value in place

The role, contribution and challenges of creative freelance work

The creative industries are incredibly diverse, and include a very wide range of occupations and businesses, from fashion or interior design, to video game or dance companies. This diversity can make it hard to measure the value created by creative workers, as their way of working, their income, and the number of roles they play can vary considerably from one sub-sector to another. 

https://pec.ac.uk/discussion-papers/creating-value-in-place 

Evaluating the Freelance Task Force

In April 2020, initiated by Fuel Theatre in London, some 150 sponsor organisations signed an open letter announcing a new national Freelance Task Force, which promised its members solidarity, representation, connections and some financial support. This evaluation includes practical  and strategic recommendations to inform the way forward.

https://www.culturehive.co.uk/resources/evaluating-the-freelance-task-force/ 

Mind the Understanding Gap: The Value of Creative Freelancers

New report calls attention to the range and contribution of creative freelancers in the UK, based on the economic, cultural and social value they generate.

In a research project led by Coventry University, 84 creative freelancers who lived and/or worked in the Coventry city region, the London Borough of Waltham Forest, and the county of Northumberland were interviewed across 100 hours in 2020.

The resulting report Mind the Understanding Gap: The Value of Creative Freelancers summarises this investigation into the contribution of creative freelancers to the economic, societal and place-based impacts of the creative industries. An in-depth Discussion Paper has been published here.

Mind-the-Understanding-Gap-The-Value-of-Creative-Freelancers.pdf (creativeunited.org.uk) 

Impact of the Pandemic on the Livelihood of Visual Arts Workers 

In 2021, CVAN, working with other UK-based visual arts sector organisations and professional bodies, commissioned a comprehensive UK-wide study to look at the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on the sector. This was the second such report. The first, in May 2020, acted quickly to understand the position of the workforce dependent on the freelance gig economy at the outset of the pandemic. 

This second report, Impact of the Pandemic on the Livelihood of Visual Arts Workers, was published in September 2021 and evidenced the current situation of the visual arts workforce. It also investigated the sector’s response to emergency support measures announced by Arts Council England and HM Treasury. It included responses from a range of individuals that work in the sector – from artists and makers, technicians and fabricators, and from curators to consultants. The report’s findings aim to outline how best to deploy the capacity and resources of sector support organisations over the challenging time ahead. The results will also act as an evidence base to advocate for those artists and arts professionals who find themselves in a position of hardship over the coming months.

https://cvan.art/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CVAN-Summary-Report-FINAL-WEB.pdf 

Coventry University graduate creates app to help young people find freelance work

A Coventry University graduate is to launch an app designed to help students and young professionals find skilled freelance opportunities. 

Hakim Mohamed is set to introduce the HyreHub app to the market in the coming weeks, with hopes of helping his young peers to market themselves to employers, secure regular freelance work and bolster their skilled work portfolio. 

There are currently a number of platforms available for freelance professionals, but for students and young people competing in large talent pools with experienced professionals, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd and attract employers.

Coventry University graduate creates app to help young people find freelance work | Coventry University