Over the past 12 months, a diverse group of 14 artists have been sharing their lived experience of working, fund raising, collaborating, promoting and exhibiting. This month (July 2025) saw our final meeting with them all in the heart of Sheffield’s Cultural Quarter.
The session, the last in a four-part series, was the culmination of an initiative, launched by Creative United in 2024, to better understand the experiences and challenges faced by contemporary artists in two parts of the UK – the West Midlands and North East Lincolnshire.
This included a particular focus on artists from diverse backgrounds in those areas identified and designated as Levelling Up for Culture Places, who remain underrepresented in the contemporary arts sector.
At this final session, held at the Work Station, in Sheffield’s Cultural Quarter, artists took time to reflect on their contributions over the past year. The theme of the meeting, titled “Community and Ecosystems,” centred on working within communities, building a sense of belonging, and understanding how ecosystems develop. Together, we explored what makes a thriving arts environment, the impact of economic and structural challenges and shared examples of good practice.
Highlighting the importance of placing the artist at the centre of policy research and development, Kevin Hunt, painter, print-maker, sculptor, functional designer, from the West Midlands said:
“Often an organisation of arts professionals might decide what an artist needs to sustain their career without consulting with artists, and that happens far more often than not. I think what’s very important is that Creative United have brought together a collection of people from all different walks of life and geographical areas of their region to feed into what they feel is missing or needed to help them, to help us continue to be artists.”
“It’s tricky to distil [the experience] into one word but what’s great about feeding into advisory groups and committees like this is that there’s an ability to articulate need, in a way that an artist’s voice isn’t always heard.”
Mary-Alice Stack, Chief Executive of Creative United said: “The combination of precarious work opportunities and low earnings have a hugely detrimental impact on the UK’s artists. We remain committed to exploring innovations to help creatives thrive economically, so they can continue to enrich our cultural landscape.”
“My heart-felt thanks to our Artist Advisory Group (AAG) members who articulated their challenges and ideas so clearly and candidly to us. Their experiences will feed into our tapestry of research to build a clearer picture of the challenges of earning a living as an artist in the UK today.”
A range of talented artists made up this year’s AAG, with experience including graffiti, photography, multi-media, performance, sculpture, textiles and visual arts. Click the button below to find out all about them.
Watch this space and sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear about the next edition of the Artists Advisory Group and how you can get involved.
Alongside the AAG, Creative United partners with a range of Higher Education Institutions and public bodies to run research programmes and test new innovations to help improve the economic outcomes for creative enterprises.
Find out more about our current initiatives HERE