The "Conquering the Work Space. Working Conditions in Civil Society Organizations in the Field of Contemporary Arts and Culture" publication brings the results of the two-year research on working conditions in civil society organizations in the field of contemporary arts and culture in Croatia by analyzing quantitative and qualitative data in detail which give a rich insight into the context, nature and manners of work in the sector. Because of the complexity of the researched phenomenon, the working conditions analysis is directed onto three levels: sector analysis, that encompasses the surrounding conditions that determine the sector itself, organizational analysis, that looks at elements of the sector CSOs, and personal analysis, that unveils the immediate experiences of work experience of employees in the sector.

The introductory part of the study presents the research framework with the theoretical background and an array of data that set the civil sector of contemporary arts and culture in Croatia in the European and international cultural framework and is followed by explanation of the methodological research framework. The results and analysis od research data are presented next, taking into account that the first part are the quantitative data obtained my mapping of the subject sector. Using secondary data from Kultura Nova’s Support Programme application database, the data that was obtained through two questionnaires implemented for the purposes of this research and that included institutional working conditions of CSOs active in the sector (N=93), as well as the immediate working conditions of employees in the CSOs (N=111). The second part of the publication presents the results of the qualitative part of the research in which 22 half-structured interviews were carried out with employees of CSOs in 9 Croatian cities. The final argument tackles issues such as the structural limitations of work in the subject sector, uncertainty of work at all research levels, the burn out phenomenon, self-definition through work and the social sensitivity of employees in the sector. Last part of the book is made up of recommendations for public policy with the aim of improving working conditions in the civil sector in the field of contemporary arts and culture, and emphasis is put on regional differences that have to be taken into account at all public policy measures design and implementation levels.

Publication authors are Valerija Barada, Jaka Primorac and Edgar Buršić. Dea Vidović is editor, executive editor is Tamara Zamelli, and the designers are Dario Dević and Hrvoje Živčić. The study was reviewed by prof. Jasminka Lažnjak, PhD and doc. Marija Brajdić Vuković, PhD.

Keywords: work, employment, civil society, culture, creative work, contemporary culture, contemporary art, cultural sector, cultural policy, public policy.

The study is disposed under the Creative Commons license Attribution – Share Alike 3.0 Croatia.