Arts Workers in California Creating a More Inclusive Social Contract to Meet Arts Workers’ and Other Independent Contractors’ Needs

In January 2021, Center for Cultural Innovation, with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, commissioned a new report to help arts advocates, labor advocates, and policy makers create more fair conditions to include more types of workers. Researched and authored by the Urban Institute, the report outlines the working arrangements of the more than 600,000 arts workers in California and sheds new light on the challenges and issues they face, particularly when working as independent contractors. It also identifies policy shifts to update systems, for those in California or nationally, that could be more inclusive of artists and others who operate outside the traditional bounds of employment.
Created by the Urban Institute, this report was funded under a contract with the Center for Cultural Innovation with support from the
William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.