How Chicago embedded equity and worker protection into the city’s cultural policy framework
PROJECT: A campaign to recognise creative workers’ rights and improve standards to protect freelance and creative labour
Chicago’s Creative Worker Rights: “Art is Labor” campaign redefines how cities value artistic work. Launched in 2024, it acknowledges that creative output – whether through residencies, performances, or public commissions – is a vital form of work that deserves fair protection, compensation, and respect. The campaign is a collaboration between the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), through its Office of Labour Standards.
Addressing disparities in creative work
For years, Chicago’s creative community had called on the City to establish clearer standards and resources for people working across arts and culture. These demands highlighted systemic inequities such as significant earnings disparities of creatives by race, ethnicity, and gender; the increased likelihood of creative workers to be self-employed. Chicago creative workers are also more likely to have more than one job or way of earning income, with their artistic work/practice making up less than half of their income. The “Art is Labor” campaign responded directly to these calls, embedding equity and worker protection into the city’s cultural policy framework.
Making creative workers’ rights visible and securing new protection
Designed as a high-visibility, citywide campaign, “Art is Labor” used bold, colourful and accessible materials to raise awareness about creative workers’ rights. It provided artists, freelancers, and cultural producers with the knowledge and tools to understand and navigate complex labour regulations.
The campaign also highlighted new protections that will improve creative workers’ ability to advocate and safeguard the conditions of their work. The launch of the campaign coincided with Illinois’s implementation of the Freelance Worker Protection Act, which introduced transparent standards for independent workers. This strategic timing positioned Chicago as a leader in municipal action to protect freelance and creative labour, reinforcing state-level policy with local outreach and support mechanisms.
Empowering workers and employers through education
The campaign focused on building the partnerships necessary to make sure that creative work is good work. By connecting Chicago’s creative workers and their employers to information about the relevant laws and resources at the local, state, and federal level, the campaign raised awareness about creative workers’ existing rights.
They specifically targeted employers in the cultural sector, to promote compliance and responsibility through tailored toolkits, webinars, one-to-one office hours, and virtual meetings with regulatory agency staff. These resources aimed to foster a shared understanding that fair labour practices are integral to a sustainable creative economy.
DCASE and BACP are committed to sustaining and expanding this work. The next phase, launching in 2026, will deepen municipal investment in creative worker rights and reinforce Chicago’s position as a model city for cultural labour policy innovation.
