This project stems from a common observation that the third cultural sector, both at french and european scale, is currently at a crossroad of various transitions : environmental, social, economic, democratic and digital. Across most of European countries, artists, creators and small cultural non-profit organisations are facing for years an increasing social and economic instability. The ongoing health crisis due to Covid-19, which makes the cultural sector step into hard times and deep changes, will further weaken their working and living conditions in the coming years. It is in this context that the project was created, to answer emerging needs and lack of guidance.

Inpact that stands for Innovative Partnership for Artistic and Cultural Transition , is carried out by seven countries, most of them part of the Roots&Routes network : Two from Spain : Valnalon  and Universitat Rovira I Virgili ; Centro Di Creazione e Cultura from Italy ; The Subjective Values Foundation from Hungary; SMOUTH from Greece; KITKC from Lithuania and from France, Les Têtes de l’Art which are the ones leading the project. It is part of the Erasmus + program and will last for two years, from October 2020 to November 2022.

The project specifically targets artists, managers from non lucrative organizations, people  with artistic skills without prior training in this sector. In other terms, those who face long-term social and economic difficulties, due to systemic barriers, opportunities and / or discrimination – women, migrants, the unemployed, people from less privileged backgrounds, disadvantaged neighborhoods or with a low level of academic training – and that are looking for new tools and resources to improve their situation.

So far, thanks to a first phase devoted to research, we realized that for almost every country, less than 1% of the overall budget is dedicated to culture in 2019. Furthermore, something we can highlight is the data we actually could not find : the average income of an artist. Indeed, globally this data is hard to find, and when we do find numbers, we can wonder how realistic they actually are.

One can find many surveys pointing out the dreadful situation artists are struggling with, from banned concerts to less opportunities and lack of income.Yet, few can find concrete solutions to these. Hence the importance of Inpact. We aim to undertake these struggles.

From the needs of our target group, we will conceive and disseminate innovative methods and tools, in order to train them to face the financial and social difficulties. Concretely, the idea is to help them gain skills, for a better access to employment and entrepreneurship, so that they become emancipated, and gain confidence in their personal capacities, in terms of innovation and change.

If you are interested in the artists employment topic here’s a link to an international project presentation “Routes to Employment. Arts and Culture as Enablers for Growth”  : it will enlarge your vision and give you insight into existing possibilities for artists.

Expected Results : 

Two final results can be expected : A digital and freely downloadable Tool Kit and a short web series, both translated into english and five more languages. On top of that, we expect of course, to have a real impact directly or indirectly toward the participants and staff of partner organizations, personally and professionally at different levels.

To carry out this project, several activities designed with innovative methods and tools, and offered through co-creative and cross-sectoral approaches. For instance, we are soon to host a co-creation lab which is part of the first “Research”. It is a space that gathers artists and stakeholders for creating tools and methods designed in response to their needs.

If you want to know more about the project or the progress, we gladly invite you to follow the Routes & Roots webpage as well as Facebook, as we will be updating the development there.