Abstract

As the vulnerability and precarious working conditions with intersectional inequalities in the cultural sector have been widely acknowledged, especially during the pandemic, there is a growing expectation for sector-specific peer associations in consolidating key issues and making policy recommendations. Through semi-structured interviews with 15 stakeholder groups, this paper identifies five key challenges: the self-management capacity of freelancers, the organisational fragility of professional associations and umbrella bodies, the lack of inter-organisational communication, overly high expectations placed on the Arts Council as a multi-purpose body, and the issues of terminology of peer organisations. Additionally, the paper proposes two measures to address these challenges.