The beginning of a new year for me as a freelancer has always been met with a certain amount of trepidation. Looking down the long horizon of a full year ahead, I am always concerned about what lies ahead for me, reliant as I am for my income on the successes of others and their consequent ability to employ me. I can’t recall a January in recent years that I was wholly confident in my earning potential – my earning capacity yes, my talents, yes, and the value of my clients work, yes…but matching that with the real economic situation has been another matter. I will not be alone in having found contracts shrinking, postponed or cancelled due to the vagaries of funding and revenue.
Compared to some Januarys, I find myself in relative financial security for at least half of the year. I have close to capacity work confirmed until the end of July; these contracts look set to offer me further work as well as continue past that July funding cut off; and there are new contracts on the horizon. Even better, these contracts are some of the best I have ever been involved in.
But I have a nagging fear of this year. More than ever, the sector that I depend on for my living is under systemic threat from governmental and market forces. I see arts organisations of all sizes being squeezed from all directions, having to consider questions as to their remit, function and aims to keep them on the playing field; I know of redundancies and pay freezes or cuts at all levels of organisations and people having to turn their lives around to adapt to these changes. And this is before they even leave the office to deliver the outstanding work they do; here again, we are all too aware of the effects of cuts.
As resilient as myself and my peers are, this is an uncertain time. As much as we are looking for opportunities in adversity, we are all trying to second guess and ready ourselves for the next waves of cuts. The speed at which change occurred last year, I also know that several of my peers are exhausted and are wondering if this might not be the time to try that alternative career path.
All around me then I see individuals and organisations asking some very serious questions of themselves and 2011 would seem set to be a year that we see fundamental and pervasive shifts in the way that we do things as a sector.
Cara Courage is an Arts Consultant, Head of Learning at Architecture Centre Network, and Transition Co-coordinator for the Creative Campus Initiative