Tackling the effects of the pandemic
Public Services International, a federation of 700+ trade unions 154 countries, has released a draft Manifesto for Cultural Workers addressing topics such as working conditions, funding, access and decolonisation.
A new toolkit for creatives addresses how to combat stress and boost your creativity, positivity and productivity. It also sets out how to work out what good growth looks like for you, reach new customers and make financials work.
The Craft Council’ Craft Club Annual Report explores volunteer led and community making activity and the impact of the pandemic on craft club leaders and members. The programme will continue to work in partnership with community-focused organisations and has launched a new Everyday Making Facebook group.
The Policy and Evidence Centre hosted a freelancer fortnight. The Freelancer Policy Briefing recommends that the Government should consider calls for a Freelance Commissioner to build more resilience in the UK's self-employed workforce. Evidence shows how policy makers need to recognise and acknowledge the diversity and different working models and consider how these impact on where resources are directed for recovery. (CC sees the word ‘freelancers’ as including many of the issues affecting maker sole traders.)
A New Direction commissioned five Listening Projects to shed light on the impact of COVID-19 on young Londoners. Findings focus on the need to listen and respond meaningfully to young voices, developing local-level approaches over regional ones and using all our powers for advocacy.
Case studies from the Culture, Health & Wellbeing Alliance feature work with people who are resident in hospitals, care homes, hospices, prisons and other institutions during the pandemic. Recommendations include the need to support creative freelancers through the pandemic and its aftermath, to invest in culture, health and wellbeing programmes and the partnerships that underpin them and to support training and research that will help the cultural sector to address health inequalities.
The Audience Agency's latest Cultural Participation Monitor suggests that existing audience inequalities have been reinforced and the result is likely to be increases in inequality in cultural engagement into the future.