Making cultural work visible in cultural policy

Cultural work, also referred to as creative labour, has recently received more attention in academic journals and literature. The importance of cultural work is often understated and hidden behind its metonym: cultural and creative industries. However, while the creative and cultural industries are celebrated globally for their contribution to economies and to societies, very little is acknowledged about the role of cultural work within them and/or about the everyday experiences of cultural workers. The literature on the poor economic rewards and unstable careers of cultural workers is extensive. However, only recently has the focus of this debate moved to embracing education, and this is partially in response to the policy changes. In this chapter, highlights some key issues surrounding cultural work and its understanding in academic, policy and media literature. It acknowledges the lack of visibility of cultural work within policy as highlighted also by Banks and Hesmondhalgh.