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Bow Skills Talk: get to know your rights at work as an artist with Designers + Cultural Workers (UVW-DCW)
Wednesday 8th March 2023 , 6:00pm to 8:00pm
Get clued up on your rights at work as an artist and cultural worker with the Designers + Cultural Workers branch of United Voices of the World (DCW-UVW) as they run through a brief history of artist organising, building solidarity with each other, and how to get paid!
With so many different ways to exist and work as an artist and cultural worker, building solidarity and understanding the rights we are owed can feel difficult to grasp. DCW-UVW want to demystify the whole process and equip you with the tools to advocate for yourself and others.
We’ll kick things off with an intro to the work DCW-UVW are doing and how artists have effectively organised and agitated for change in the past.
DCW-UVW will then dig a bit deeper into issues around the gig economy in the arts and cultural sector (including the status divide between workers vs. freelancers), the plurality of ways of working as an artist in the sector, and how artists are often pitted against one another when we should be supporting each other.
For the rest of the session, we will break out into smaller groups to skills share and learn with and from each other about topics including how to ensure we get paid and any other important issues you want to work through.
We will follow up with all sign ups to ask if you have any questions you would like to submit to the DCW-UVW team in advance of the session on more specialist topics, so they can check in with relevant members of their team beforehand and get some answers for you!
Session overview:
- Intro to DCW-UVW and a brief history of artist organising
- Issues around the gig economy in the arts and culture sector
- Building solidarity with other artists and cultural workers
- Skills sharing and peer-to-peer learning on how to get paid and other issues effecting artists today
What you will gain:
- An understanding of your rights at work as an artist and the rights you are owed
- An insight into how other artists practicing today are approaching this topic
- A new network of artists and creative professionals
More about Designers + Cultural Workers (UVW-DCW)
Designers + Cultural Workers (UVW-DCW) is a sector group in United Voices of the World, a grassroots trade union which supports and empowers precarious, low-paid and predominantly migrant workers in the UK.
DCW is a non-hierarchical group organising atomised and precarious workers across the creative industries. DCW’s definition of cultural work is intentionally broad: members include graphic, fashion and product designers, front of house and gallery staff, casual tutors and facilitators, administrators, cleaners, and anyone who identifies as a cultural worker.
Anna is the casework coordinator for the Worker Solidarity working group, which is where member issues are dealt with in a more collective way.
About Bow Skills
Bow Arts seeks to support creative professionals at all stages of their careers. In 2015 Bow Arts launched Bow Skills in response to an artist survey which showed over 90% of practicing artists find it useful to receive further support outside formal education.
Bow Skills is a dynamic and relevant programme of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) which is informed by an artist steering group and open to all creative practitioners across London. The programme of talks, panel discussions, new skills labs and peer crits is open to all, with concession rates available to students, over 65s, under 18s, Bow Arts artists and key workers.
Access information
The Bow Arts Trust office has step-free access throughout from street level, including to the accessible toilet, and is service animal friendly. This venue does not have a hearing loop system.
Accessible parking is not available on-site but blue badge parking can be found 500m away on Fairfield Road.
If you have any questions regarding accessibility at this venue or event, would like to make us aware of any access requirements that you have in advance of visiting, or would like this information in an alternate format including Easy Read, please email nunnery@bowarts.com or call 020 8980 7774 (Ext. 3)
Transport Information
Opening hours: Mon-Friday, 9am to 5pm
Address: Bow Arts Trust, 183 Bow Road, London, E3 2SJ
Nearest station(s): Bow Road (District and Hammersmith and City lines) is a 6-minute walk away, and Bow Church (DLR) is a 3-minute walk away.
Bus: 205, 25, 425, A8, D8, 108, 276, 488 and 8 all service the surrounding area.
Bike: Bicycle parking is located at Bow Church Station. The nearest Santander Cycles docking station is at Bow Church Station.
