‘Am I Still an Artist?’ Sustaining Arts Practice in an Age of Austerity

Abstract

‘ “Am I Still an Artist?” Sustaining Arts Practice in an Age of Austerity’ is a preliminary investigation into artists’ narratives of struggles to sustain creative and critical professional practice in current conditions of austerity, identifying themes as concerns for enquiry. The study makes a critical enquiry into discourses of the ‘artist’, ‘qualification’ and ‘economic agents’ in the contexts of the contemporary creative arts markets and considers the effects of performativity on the identity and agency of creative artists. The study considers concepts of networks of ‘innovation’ and ‘knowledge economies’ to consider ‘performativity’ and ‘counter-performativity’ in the organization of networks, and the implications for artists with regard to questions of education, training and continuing professional development.