Precarity and New Opportunities for Cultural Producers in the Global South

Heri Retnawati
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Heri Retnawati: Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta

Global Digital Culture & Communication, 2025, vol. 2, 9

Abstract: Over the past few decades, cultural and creative industries have gained increasing relevance in the global economy. However, this growth has been accompanied by a significant expansion of precarious forms of work, especially among independent cultural producers, freelancers, and informal workers. This article analyzes the relationship between labor precarity and emerging opportunities for cultural producers in the Global South, considering structural changes arising from digitalization, cultural globalization, and creative economy policies. Methodologically, a mixed approach is adopted, combining a systematic review of academic literature indexed in Scopus with the analysis of secondary data and comparative statistical simulation of labor dynamics in the cultural sector. The results show that, although cultural work is characterized by high levels of job instability, temporary contracts, and lack of social protection, new opportunities are also emerging linked to digital platforms, transnational cultural production networks, and global creative markets. Likewise, the data indicate that cultural producers in the Global South develop adaptive strategies based on hybrid economies, multiple job portfolios, and alternative circuits of cultural production. The discussion suggests that precarity not only represents a structural condition of contemporary creative work but also a space for social and cultural innovation. Finally, it is concluded that cultural and labor policies must be reconfigured to recognize the central role of cultural workers in the creative economies of the Global South, ensuring fairer working conditions and strengthening sustainable cultural ecosystems.

Keywords: Cultural industries,; labor precarity,; creative economy,; Global South,; cultural work,; cultural produce. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gdc:gdccmm:v:2:y:2025:id:9

DOI: 10.65835/gdcc.2025.2.9

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