Talent Is Everywhere - Opportunity Is Not
A recent study by the Creative Industries Policy & Research Centre has found that working class creatives is at the lowest level in a decade. The research revealed that only 8% of creatives in TV and film are from working class backgrounds, whereas 60% are from middle- and upper-class backgrounds. And unsurprisingly - most of these jobs are based in London, which presents further barriers to working class participation and representation.
The distinct lack of opportunity paints a bleak picture for most working class creatives leading a lot to wonder - is there any fucking point trying?
With industries dominated by few elite powers the road to success is already much harder for those from working class backgrounds and the story is not much different in Manchester. The problem has never been a lack of talent, rather a lack of opportunity.
Manchester has recently been given the impressive title of the Creative Capital of the UK. Following a recent study by Adobe Express Manchester scored an impressive overall creativity score of 8.7/10. The research took into account various factors including the number of jobs available in the creative sector, the amount of museums and galleries in the city as well as the number of notable artists born in each of the cities that were studied.
The stats reveal that Manchester boasts an estimated 111 notable creatives per 100,000 people, composed of musicians, painters, and writers. Additionally, there are approximately 31 relevant job roles per 100,000 residents in the creative arts sector. Renowned as one of Europe’s largest creative, digital, and technology clusters, Manchester has over 10,000 businesses operating in these sectors.
It all sounds amazing right? Well despite seeming like it’s all things thriving, research also shows that this creative industry is only coming from a fraction of the city with the poorest areas excluded from Manchester’s creative industries success story. In a 2022 study by the Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre it points to a much more complex picture with large areas, mostly in the poorest parts of Manchester, having few creative industries firms and very little to no creative industries or employment.
The report draws attention to the fact that Creative Industries in the Manchester city-region are largely concentrated in the city centre and Salford Quays, considered creative ‘hot spots’ with several smaller ones predominantly in the South of Manchester in places like Altrincham and Wilmslow - which are also among the most affluent in the city-region. Meanwhile there are large ‘cold’ areas, with little creative industries activity at all, at least as recorded in official statistics, especially in the inner east side of the city-region and in the north of the city-region. The presence of a thriving creative industry seems to reflect the contrasting sides of prosperity and poverty across the inner city regions.
If you’re from one of the ‘cold spots’ or a poorer part of town then this news probably won’t surprise you. Lack of opportunity, lack of support and lack of money are three of the main reasons many of us give up on our creative dreams in the first place. With creatives not having access to the same benefits they could in the past, there is no safety net for those in the early stages of their careers. Freelance work is precarious in nature and without money behind you a lot of us don’t have the financial means to even start, and even those currently in the sector are having to leave it entirely due to the pressure of juggling multiple jobs just to survive.
Imagine if you were a disabled artist with dreams of becoming an illustrator but you’ve been rejected for disability benefits and are unable to physically work in a lot of roles - how will you find the funds to pursue this? Imagine if you were a care leaver, forced out into the big bad world on your own at 16/17 with a flat to run and bills to pay - is that fashion degree you dreamed of doing anything more than a pipe dream? Imagine you care for a sick/disabled parent or family member - you have to work a tiring job you hate just to survive - is your dream of making it in music suddenly on the backburner?
Collectively the creative industries constitute an economic powerhouse, delivering £115.9bn GVA to the UK economy, accounting for 2.2 million jobs, and exporting more than £50bn per year - yet despite all this the Arts are not valued at all by those in positions of power. In January 2022, Rishi Sunak revealed he was planning to scrap student loans for those studying what he referred to as ‘Mickey Mouse’ subjects and then again in July 2023 he announced further plans to cap the number of students doing ‘low-value’ university degrees. Luckily for now, with Labour winning the most recent election he doesn’t get to act on these plans just yet. But what exactly is Keir Starmer offering as an alternative? He may have pledged to make the arts more accessible to young people from all backgrounds just a few months ago, but with his track record of rapid U-turns and abandoned policy pledges - can we really trust him to deliver on his promise?
So what can we do? Well for starters despite all these bleak prospects surrounding the creative industry, there are still plenty of us from both advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds working together to build communities and fight for real change. There’s strength in numbers and there’s strength in us. We can either sit back and let it all fall apart around us or we can speak up for ourselves, and each other - and not take no for an answer. This is the heart of 1922’s mission, to make things fairer for everyone, to give people the flowers they deserve and to build up a thriving creative industry where there’s currently nothing. Yes it will be hard - and no it won’t happen overnight - but how much more satisfying it will be when we can say we did it. You shouldn’t have to run off to London in the hopes of ‘making it’ - we should all have the chance to make it - right where we are.
FURTHER READING LINKS
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/13/labour-to-set-out-access-to-the-arts-plan
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/13/labour-to-set-out-access-to-the-arts-plan