ABSTRACT
This chapter documents and analyses the professional trajectories, motivations, and experiences of more than 25 producers and managers working in various contexts in the performing arts, both in institutions and alongside independent organisations and artistic collectives. We analyse the intersection between artistic creation and the management/production sphere, looking into the rich and complex relationships between artists and managers, (un)covering issues of power distribution, credit in building artistic ‘success stories’ and careers, and working conditions. The chapter closes with an analytical synthesis consisting of the key triad: invisibility, subordination, and pragmatism, arguing that independent producers – and especially women – operate largely in sphere of invisibility; that they tend to be defined by the practical tasks they undertake, often seen as ‘minor’; that their jobs comprise many responsibilities related to ‘care’; and that at the organisational level, they are likely to be found below the established hierarchy.
