Creative Liberation - Why Freelancing Is the Ultimate Expression
With the rise of the gig economy, freelancers are a highly visible group. It is no surprise that journalists, sociologists, human resources specialists, life coaches and freelancers themselves are all trying to understand what it is about this type of work that attracts them so much. Freelancing is frequently portrayed as liberating, empowering and glamorous.
There is an element of truth in this. A growing number of individuals are leaving behind office politics and endless meetings to pursue a career that is flexible, interesting and meaningful to them. This trend has been fuelled by the growth of new technologies that enable people to work wherever they choose, and to earn a wage without committing to one employer for an indefinite period. In the creative sector, this has been especially significant.
It has also been fuelled by the growing recognition of the value that creativity brings to society, both economically and socially. Increasingly, the public and policy makers recognise that we need to support more creativity in the workplace and beyond.
This has been reflected in the Government’s recent commitment to invest in creative industries and the launch of the Good Work review, which will explore how to improve job quality for those working in these sectors. The review will look at issues that include ensuring workers get access to training and development, the right to sick pay and shared parental leave, and how we better support those who work freelance, particularly in the arts and the wider creative industries.
However, it is important to note that the work of many freelancers, including those in the creative sector, is a form of resistance. Often, the most critical aspect of any art is not its aesthetic or commercial success but rather its capacity to unshackle the body and soul.
Moreover, the work of artists and other creative practitioners is frequently recognised as one of the most vital forms of resistance in societies where repression or violence are endemic.
For example, Daniels’ Performing Liberation workshops in Auckland prison were designed to address the reductive and deficit approach that underpins the carceral system by creating spaces where incarcerated individuals could share their stories of liberation through a range of artistic mediums. The workshops produced some powerful and moving responses to the questions on liberation provided as a provocation. However, they did not result in the sustained creative dialogue between the two incarcerated communities that was originally envisioned.
Those who choose to work freelance are a diverse population of individuals with different educational backgrounds, ambitions, needs and motivations. As such, it is difficult to portray their experiences accurately through a single narrative, regardless of whether this narrative is constructed by journalists, sociologists, human resources specialists, or even freelancers themselves. It is therefore crucial to avoid reductive caricatures of the experiences and values that underpin the freelance lifestyle. In doing so, we can begin to identify some of the key drivers that drive this dynamic and the implications that this has for our future working lives.
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