Creative and cultural work post-Covid-19: Interruptions as space of political re-futuring

Abstract

What sparks collective acts of resistance to workplace inequality? This article considers the Covid-19 (C-19) pandemic as an interruption to established practices of creative work, one that creates the opportunity for politicised subjectivities to develop. It is based on a qualitative investigation of cultural and creative workers located in the Italian city Milan conducted in the aftermath of the first C-19 lockdown. Observations of an emerging sense of consciousness, a recognition of precarious working conditions associated with creative labour by those who operate within the sector, combined with the necessary resource of time created the conditions for collective action. Building on previous literature that considers the disruptive effects of interruptions, from either large-scale physical disaster or significant change to an individual's personal identity, the article explores the generative outcomes that can emerge from an interruption, one which creates opportunities for re-imagination and political re-futuring.