1. The Status of the Artists in Europe
In addition to the systems of direct public support for the arts and artists, there are
pieces of legislation in many European countries which take into account some of the
social and /or economic needs of creative workers resulting from their often
precarious working status.
"Integrated models" which facilitate cooperation between cultural policies (including
direct and indirect measures) and other areas of policy making (e.g. economics, social
affairs, health or employment) are few. A re-orientation or re-focusing of existing
public policies for artists and their working environment in a more integrated manner
remains a challenging task.
While the core issues facing artists' social and economic needs are similar,
governments across Europe have adopted different solutions. The Compendium
country profiles provide information on employment policies for the cultural sector,
social security or labour frameworks for self-employed artists, special tax exemptions
on artist's expenses, etc. This information enables users to identify innovative
approaches which could help to inspire new policy developments.