The Double Negative

"We researched a lot of different volunteer programmes and came across so many poor schemes in the sector, particularly ones where people were expected to do minimum hours. That wasn't a scheme we wanted to replicate here." Implementing a system that provides training every Monday for volunteers and staff - on topics ranging from events management, programming, marketing and business planning - may be a progressive way to nurture young producers, and will indeed offer much-needed career development for some, if not all. However, it also unearths wider and complex issues about surviving in the arts. What will people who want to work in the arts sector be doing in the future to secure paid work? And will that work ever be permanent? One of those issues is that artists simply aren't being paid enough, and often have to hold down two or three jobs in order to secure a living wage. The Scotsman reported last month that three in four artists earn less than £5,000 a year. Many work at cultural organisations like FACT as freelancers for one-off creative projects (we're one of them). Many others undertake zero-hour contracts, a system widely utilised in the industry as a way to manage irregular events and seasonal attendance, but often resulting in an unreliable income for staff. Recent government data reveals that 1.4 million of us are on zero-hour contracts with no guaranteed minimum hours or pay. A second major issue is that there simply aren't enough arts jobs to go around. Recently, National Museums Liverpool - who run a range of traditional museums and galleries across Merseyside that offer free entry and events - announced that further jobs were to be axed (one in five posts have already been cut since 2010). Getting a foot on the ladder if you aspire towards a role as a curator, programmer, artist - or indeed an arts administrator, technician, manager, front of house or any other core operational role that make our cultural institutions tick - is currently worryingly difficult across the UK. "So does this mean that our cultural institutions need to get their act together, and maybe start operating differently?" So does this mean that our cultural institutions need to think again, and maybe start operating differently? Clare Connor, Director of Stratford Circus, and Gavin Barlow, CEO of the Albany, recently wrote an article for The Guardian about arts centres holding the key to the UK culture's future. "Art centres are often busy from early morning to late at night, offering an extensive range of services and platforms for engagement, attracting audiences the sector usually finds hard to reach. They have a more varied approach in "providing access to artists, consultancy, networks and training", in addition to being more imaginative in gaining revenue that doesn't solely rely on government funding. Barlow said to us: "Times are clearly tough for a lot of arts organisations. Arts centres have traditionally had a lot of support from local authorities and so many have been hit hard by funding cuts. The successful ones have proved very adaptable and resilient, taking advantage of the flexibility of their business models and renegotiating their relationship with local authorities where they can. At the Albany for example, we have used our expertise in running cultural buildings to bid for local authority contracts, and are now running two new library buildings. "Like most arts centres, we were already running a social enterprise model, so were used to diversifying income streams. Looking forward, I think one of the major issues is how we support the next generation of leaders and how arts centres can support each other, sharing expertise and creating more opportunities for emerging artists and producers by working together. It's for that reason we helped set up the National Partnership of Arts Centres last year, and are aiming to launch a wider network next week - Future Arts Centres." If this more adaptable approach does hold the key to our future, then arts centres have a vital, civic responsibility to both pursue more sustainable business models and provide more opportunities for people who want to work within them. "It can be hard to handle... One of the things we're there for is to help the organisation to understand what the bigger picture is," says Arts Council Director (Combined Arts and North) Alison Clark Jenkins, who works with a huge variety of cultural organisations including art galleries and music festivals. When asked about the future of entry-level roles and the lack of part-time and full-time jobs in the arts, she confirmed that staffing structures have changed drastically and will certainly remain so.