Vivan Storlund

Widening Horizons by Mining the Wealth of Creative Thinkers Vivan Storlund

The creative sector has to a great extent overtaken industrial production as an economic driver in advanced economies. There is a new world on the internet forming new communities of interest as well as creating a new economy, the platform economy. Notwithstanding, working life continues to be regulated according to the industrial rationale with full-time, long-term employment. A consequence of this is that many persons are deprived of the legal protection labour legislation and collective agreements are intended to provide. This has led to a growing precariat. Those who do not have such 'standard employment' can often face Kafka-like situations being disciplined in multiple ways. This is a situation in which artists have long-standing experience. To cite the Maltese cultural activist Narcy Calamatta: Goldoni died destitute in Paris a day before the revolutionary forces gave him a pension, Caravaggio died destitute on the streets of Porto Ercole, Mozart died burdened with debts, Molière was buried in unconsecrated ground. What can we do to reverse this status?, Calamatta asks. We need to update our mental software to recognise and remove both theoretical and legal shackles so that we can seize the great opportunities the digital age offers. Artists can act as precursors in this exercise and basic income as a means to ensure that everybody can live a life as an active citizen.