A N N O U N C E M E N T
Creative Class Struggles
or
Creative Precarity: On the creatives and their class consciousness
De Balie, Amsterdam
Sunday September 3, 2006
start: 20.30 hrs.
In recent years the “creative class” is regarded as the avant garde
of Western economic development. Cities proclaim themselves to be
‘creative cities’. They roll out the red carpets for creative workers
with equally creative marketing campaigns. Although the term
“creative class” appears to refer to the traditional socio-economic
definition, in fact an unheard of diversity of professions is
subsumed under this heading: fashion designers, journalists,
financial consultants, ICT experts, artists, graphic designers, and
advertising professionals.
The most important characteristic all these groups seem to share is a
fast and flexible life- and work-style. Work doesn’t stop here at
office hours, but continues into the ‘late hours’, and one
continuously has to be up to date with latest developments in the
field. These mobile, highly educated, and flexibly deployable
employees - cultural entrepreneurs - are presented by policy makers
as an ideal for the European labour market, which is transforming
itself thoroughly to become ‘the most competitive knowledge economy
of the world’.
Concurrent with the discussion about the creative class another
discussion has gained momentum, about another and comparably diverse
class; that of precarious labour. Precarious here means uncertain,
hazardous - as in the ‘precarious balance’ of a rope-dancer. This new
class of employee usually operates in serial temporary and flexible
work arrangements, and has no predictable security about income,
pensions, or guarantees about the future availability of social
benefits or chances for self-improvement in a Europe where the
welfare state has become a thing of the past. A remarkable form of
social mobilisation has surfaced around the issue of precarity, in
one of the most unlikely areas where it could have been expected; the
domain of free and flexible labour.
Both classes, the creative and the precarious, merge to some extent.
Artists are obviously highly familiar with such precarious living and
working conditions ever since their professional group was first
invented. Reasons for some to speak about a “creative under-class” or
a “creative class-struggle”. Many members of this ‘creative under-
class’ are involved in voluntary labour; they share information and
ideas with each other and could become the founders of a new public
domain (2.0), a “creative common”. The growing identification of the
cultural and creative sector as an economic domain does raise the
question however if it is still possible to escape from such stifling
economic utilitarianism?
As part of this concluding evening of the weekend of public culture
at De Balie the Creative Workers Manifesto will be presented, a call
for decent creative labour conditions.
More information about the weekend program can be found in the
accompanying web dossier:
http://www.debalie.nl/dossierpagina.jsp?dossierid=51947
Discussion with; Ned Rossiter, researcher University of Ulster,
Belfast, kpD / kleines post-fordistisches Drama (Marion von Osten,
artist and independent theorist, Katja Reichard, independent
bookstore Pro qm and organiser of autonomous culture events, Berlin),
Mei Li Vos political scientist and chairwoman of the Alternatief Voor
Vakbond (Alternative for Labour Union), and contributions by
Flexmens.org and Greenpepper Magazine.
Master of ceremonies for the evening is Max Bruinsma, design critic.
Language: English
Sunday September 3, 2006
Start 20.30 hrs.
Admission: free
The program can also be followed live on the internet at:
http://www.debalie.nl/live
De Balie
Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 10
Amsterdam
http://www.debalie.nl
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