This project aims to help sustain local talent and skills in Slough, one of the 54 places included in Arts Council England's Levelling Up scheme for culture. 

Workshop in Slough

Award: Flexible Funding 

Academics: Dr Yiluyi Zeng and Dr Giulia Achilli

Department: Human Resource Management and Organisation Studies

Context and Underpinning Research 

This project builds on Dr Yiluyi Zeng and Dr Giulia Achilli’s existing research on sustaining creative careers in Slough, conducted through UKRI-funded partnerships. This research is brought together with expertise gained from the project leads’ other academic work. Yiluyi’s research includes a focus on freelancers and has analysed the challenges precarious workers face in attaining decent meaningful work as well as explored freelance contract relations across diverse contexts. Giulia has previously explored the notion of performance within performing arts organisations, as well as the role of accounting in social justice within arts organisations.

Project Overview 

Slough is one of the 54 places in England to benefit from the Arts Council England (ACE) Levelling Up scheme for culture. This project undertakes impact acceleration activities to help sustain local talent and skills in Slough. Working alongside project partners Resource Productions and Salt Hill VR, Giulia and Yiluyi’s aim is to help local freelancers thrive in their creative careers, with a long-term goal to influence other ACE priority places and their policies.

Outcomes

These outcomes are essential to ensuring freelancers can excel in the creative industry and are able to respond to key challenges as identified by project partners. Outcomes include having:

·       Created a research note to support the selection process of Slough-based freelancers for the business skills course run by project partners.

·       Contributed to the initial assessment of freelancers via one-to-one calls.

·       Designed and delivered evaluation activities (focus groups question & roadmap) to test and track freelancers’ learning journey. 

·       Organised a full day of workshops for creative freelancers.

Next steps:

Produce the final report on freelancers and the skills agenda in Slough, to be disseminated and presented at Slough Arts Forum. If you are interested in the research areas associated with this project please contact Yiluyi at Yiluyi.Zeng@rhul.ac.uk and Giulia at Giulia.Achilli@rhul.ac.uk / g.achilli@bham.ac.uk