Creative Work and Business Support: Entrepreneuring in a Liminal Space

This chapter analyses the function of a business support programme for self-employed artists aimed at increasing their entrepreneurial activities. Operating in the cultural and creative sector in the Netherlands, a context where flexible working arrangements are on the rise, cultural entrepreneurship has become essential, but demanding. To address this issue, we ask how a business support programme acts as a cultural intermediary to help artists as cultural entrepreneurs navigate the challenging situation in which they find themselves. To answer this question, the chapter builds on in-depth interviews with participants as well as facilitators of the business support program Cultuur+Ondernemen. Their stories are utilised to trace the role of entrepreneurship training in supporting artists in transcending the liminal space of moving from underemployment to a sustainable income. The chapter shows that although the programme supports creative professionals, this does not mean that participants are enabled to leave a condition of insecure work as this is a structural issue. By raising this point, we contribute to existing research on cultural entrepreneurship, cultural intermediaries, business support for creative workers, and liminal entrepreneuring.