National Collaborative for Creative Work
A network of creators, policy thinkers, movement makers and change agents
The National Collaborative for Creative Work was a network of creators, policy thinkers, movement makers and change agents who worked together to weave projects, partnerships and policy solutions to enable healthy, equitable creative work in the United States. The National Collaborative concluded in spring of 2022; much of its work continues through other ASU entities, including the Studio for Creativity, Place and Equitable Communities. On this page, we invite you to explore the mission behind the Collaborative and the completed and ongoing work that began as part of the Collaborative.
Creative work isn’t working for workers.
At the time we launched the National Collaborative, statistics showed that creative work wasn't working for all workers.
38% of gig workers have any retirement savings.
Gig Economy Data Hub
25% of gig workers have health insurance.
Gig Economy Data Hub
95% of creative workers experienced pandemic-related wage loss.
Americans for the Arts
Most creative workers in the U.S. identify as contractors working on average 6–8 gigs and part time work for annual income.
Gig Economy Data Hub
The arts, culture and entertainment sector pays more than $25 million annually to gig workers and non-employees who work as contractors.
Aspen Institute
63% of creative workers experienced unemployment during the pandemic.
Americans for the Arts
The Mountain West has the highest rate of gig work in the U.S., estimated at around 40% of the total workforce of the total workforce concentrated in gig work.
Aspen Institute
Black and Hispanic workers had the highest rates of unemployment and wage loss and are over-represented in the gig workforce.
Brookings Institute
We believe creative work can sustain people and their communities.
The Collaborative worked toward that future.
Our mission
Our mission was to activate artists, educators, movement leaders and policy makers to imagine learning, tools and policies that support the social, financial and civic health of workers and their communities.
How we grounded our work
- Facilitating dynamic collaboration with artists and creative networks that center community wisdom and support self-determination.
- Modeling of racially equitable decision making and leadership in our work.
- Leveraging our unique place and investment in the civic and economic health of creative workers and communities in the Southwest.
We did this work through partnerships, projects and research that spanned several portfolios.
Sustaining a healthy creative workforce in the Southwest
Artists are a fundamental building block of our arts and culture ecosystems. By investing in and partnering with culture workers at the intersection of social impact and Southwestern ways of knowing and understanding, we invested in our communities’ well-being. Our work leveraged resources, documented innovative practices and built rhizomatic networks of support regionally, nationally and across nations. One way we did this was through the Projecting All Voices Fellowship. The Fellowship, which supports underrepresented artists from the Southwest region who are interested in exploring issues of racial equity in the arts, is continuing as part of the Studio for Creativity, Place and Equitable Communities. Learn more about Projecting All Voices.
Transforming teaching and learning about equitable creative work
Historically, arts and design degrees focused on the sharpening of craft and not the viability of that career in the world. Through innovative degrees, public programs and new scholarship, we deepened student understanding and skills about working and working well as a creative. The Creative Enterprise and Cultural Leadership in an ongoing graduate degree program in the Herberger Institute. Learn more about the Creative Enterprise and Cultural Leadership degree program.
Scaling tools that help creatives build income and community
Creative workers are essential in building healthy communities and a strong arts and culture ecosystem. Through co-design and collaborative knowledge exchange, we invested in the professional development and sustainable possibilities of community-engaged creative work at the intersections of arts, culture and other sectors. The Design and Arts Corps initiatives is an ongoing integrated community-engaged design and arts program serving all Herberger Institute students, faculty and staff. During COVID-19, the Collaborative also launched Cultural Innovation Tools, a site that brought content and solutions together for the community to understand how arts and culture at ASU are responding to the moment. Cultural Innovation Tools now continues as a place for resources design and arts resources for educators, community leaders, families and more. Learn more about Design and Arts Corps and Cultural Innovation Tools.
Building thought leadership and policy that support equitable creative work
In order for creative work to sustain people and their communities, we must change how we define our creative economy, what we invest in, and the policies and norms that drive the creative workforce. Our work supported projects, research and alliances that support new policies that redefine healthy, creative work. Learn more about National Field Leader in Residence. Read our Advancing Racial Equity in the Public Sector report.
Early work
The first phase of the National Collaborative for Creative Work, under the National Accelerator for Cultural Innovation name, engaged more than 200 collaborators from artists to national thought leaders in applied projects that transform our notion of creative work:
- Partnered with the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Southwest Folklife Alliance in AZ Creative Communities, a network of nine communities investing in artists and place-based projects.
- Invested in 14 Phoenix-based artists, unemployed due to COVID-19, as content creators helping other artists navigate state pandemic assistance and artist recovery resources.
- Hosted dozens of community projects, online career sessions and conversations helping students navigate the complexities of gig and community-focused careers.
- Initiated national partnerships and fellowships exploring the expansion of cultural work in health, transportation, infrastructure, juvenile justice, parks and community development.
How we made decisions
The Collaborative was coordinated through a shared leadership structure between BIPOC and non-BIPOC team members who committed to facilitate internal and external work, with a focus on power analysis, reparative action and mutual support. Each co-leader managed key operational functions of the collaborative and served as team lead for a core portfolio.
Our partners and investors
We participated as a thought leader, partner and collaborator in a variety of national efforts to provide increased wages and worker protections, deeper investments in BIPOC-driven creative industries and better public policy for creative workers. We did this partnership with others working toward similar goals in our field.
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