Road to Recovery? Cultural Freelancers Wales Report 2022

As noted in our 2020 report, Rebalancing and Reimagining, very little data has been
collected on freelancers in the performance sector in Wales, despite their representing
half the cultural sector workforce in Wales. Rebalancing and Reimagining was based2
on a survey carried out during July and August 2020, and its recommendations sought
to rebalance the arts sector in Wales to empower and include freelancers, especially
those who have been historically marginalised. The report sparked widespread
discussion, including at the Arts Council of Wales (ACW) and Welsh Government, and
organisations such as National Theatre Wales, which has committed to implementing
some of the report’s recommendations.

16 months after the publication of Rebalancing and Reimagining, Cultural Freelancers
Wales commissioned Cardiff University’s Creative Economy Unit (CEU) to action a
follow-up survey to discover how freelancers are ‘recovering’ as performance venues
reopen and society adapts to the effects of the pandemic. This report provides an
insight into the present moment for cultural freelancers in Wales, how they see their
future, and the long-term impact of the pandemic on their finances and well-being