Blog
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Welcome to the new Freelance Champions
FMTW warmly congratulates Leila D’Aronville and Lizzie Crump on their appointment as the UK Government’s new Freelance Champions. We are also pleased to see the Government describe the purpose of the appointments in clear terms: “Freelancers will be put at the heart…
National Lottery funding: theatre freelancers need to make their voices heard
For the first time in more than 20 years, the public is being asked to help shape how National Lottery funding for good causes is spent. This could be one of the most important funding consultations our sector responds to this year. The Department for Culture, Media…
Cutting creative arts funding means weakening the workforce of the future
The government has confirmed that performing and creative arts courses in England will no longer receive support through the Strategic Priorities Grant from 2026/27. In a letter to the Office for Students, Secretary of State for Education Bridget Phillipson MP…
Creative UK launches new advocacy toolkit for the cultural and creative industries
We attended Creative UK’s Westminster launch of The Case for the Creative Industries, meeting people from across music, film, television, theatre and higher education to discuss the value of freelancers and the changes needed to support sustainable creative careers.
FMTW welcomes Royal Court freelance charter and pay reset
Freelancers Make Theatre Work welcomes today’s announcement from the Royal Court, setting out a new pay and employment reset for freelance creatives alongside the launch of a Freelance Charter. The announcement is accompanied by an open letter to freelance artists…
FMTW turns 6! And we’re delighted to share some major news.
Six years ago, a group of freelance theatre makers facing an unprecedented shutdown came together to ask a simple question: ”How can we support our community?” Six years later, Freelancers Make Theatre Work is still here – advocating, connecting, supporting and…
The Hidden £7 Billion Subsidy Keeping the Cultural Sector Alive
Via David Reece – Chief Strategy Officer at Baker Richards | Data-Empowered Strategy for the Cultural Sector Cultural sector workers are collectively subsidising their own sector by ~£7 billion a year & that’s probably an underestimate. Here’s why. DCMS’s prov….
What Arts Council England’s response to the Hodge Review could mean for freelancers
Arts Council England has now published its response to the Hodge Review, and the government has published its own formal response. For arts freelancers, this matters. Some of the problems many people have been naming for years, around bureaucracy, access, precarity…
New cross-party parliamentary group launched to champion and support freelancers
The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Freelancers held its inaugural Annual General Meeting on Monday 9th March 2026, formally establishing the group, the proposed financial and secretariat support agreed, and the APPG priorities for the future. The APPG has…
The National Cultural Data Observatory, what it is, why it matters, and where freelancers fit
On Monday 26 January 2026, we joined a large online sector session introducing the National Cultural Data Observatory (NCDO), and exploring how organisations across arts, culture and heritage can help shape it. The NCDO’s ambition is clear, build a shared, intelligent…