The myth of the resilient artist: Goodwill and in-kind contribution in the performing arts sector

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Title The myth of the resilient artist: Goodwill and in-kind contribution in the performing arts sector
Creator Contributors
Abstract/Description The performing arts sector in Australia holds a prominent place within the country's cultural landscape. Renowned for its diversity, creativity and innovation, the sector encompasses various art forms such as theatre, music, dance and opera. Yet, the very people at its centre, performing artists, are caught in an unsustainable spiral of paid and unpaid labour. This article examines this dilemma and considers how the sector is implicated in discourses of community and economic resilience. It then explores the concept of economic and social labour in the performing arts, focusing on the way in which unpaid labour by freelance artists is pivotal within the idealised resilience of the sector. By analysing interview transcripts of performing artists in Melbourne, we shed light on the difficulties that artists encounter in achieving financial stability and proper recognition for the professional and personal cost they endure to create their works. Moreover, we critique the sector's tendency to overlook the labour of these artists and the consequential perpetuation of the economic burden, which serves as a significant obstacle to establishing fair and sustainable economic conditions for artists in Australia.
Item URL
Publisher Australasian Drama Studies
Volume 83
Page 38-66
Date Issued 1 October 2023
Language English
Citation Katy Maudlin, Rea Dennis, The myth of the resilient artist: Goodwill and in-kind contribution in the performing arts sector, Australasian Drama Studies, 83, 1 October 2023, 38-66
Data Set AusStage
Resource Identifier 79173