A precariedade no setor cultural e criativo em Portugal

: as artes do espetáculo

Abstract

This work presents an investigation on “The Precarity in the Cultural and Creative Sector in Portugal” with a focus on the performative arts. The goal is to understand the situation of these professionals in Portugal and to assess to what extent their situation is related to the precarization of the conditions in which artists and the remaining professionals of this sector work and live. Another aim is to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting cultural professionals. A theoretical contextualization is drawn, focusing on the “new spirit of capitalism” (Boltanski and Chiappelo, 2018), and on the Precariat (Standing, 2011). This contextualization is mainly focused on the concepts of the new spirit of capitalism, flexibility and precariat, and on the problems of the apology for flexibility of the precariat and its generalized insecurity. Then the Portuguese case is presented, including the current economic and working conditions, the formation of the Precariat in Portugal, the Status of the Artist and precarity in the performative arts in Portugal. It proceeds with an identification of the main Portuguese organizations of and to performative arts’ professionals and concludes with an analysis of the changes in the arts sector driven by the pandemic caused by COVID-19. Also, a methodological triangulation between a survey by questionnaire and semi-directive interviews is undertaken. The data collected leads to the conclusion that the Portuguese legal and fiscal framework, so far, does not provide the necessary conditions to the cultural and creative sector’s careers, most specifically in the performative arts. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant negative impact on the cultural and creative sector, especially on the performative arts, highlighting structural problems that urge to be solved. Finally, it is possible to note that the measures taken this far are insufficient and, in many cases, considered inadequate to the problems these professionals are facing.

Date of Award	8 Jul 2021
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Gonçalo Nuno de Bettencourt Coutinho Marcelo (Supervisor) & Sandra Lima Coelho (Co-Supervisor)