COVID-19 pandemic as a catalyst of art workers mobilisation and unionisation: the case of Greek actors

In Greece, as in other countries, the cultural sector is among the most affected by the coronavirus crisis, bringing to the surface structural problems that these sectors have been facing. As the first Greek state’s first support measures were ill-adapted to cultural sectors’ forms of employment, artists’ unions mobilised and new solidarity groups and campaigns such as Support Art Workers (SAW) emerged. Based on findings deriving from qualitative research, the article examines the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the employment conditions and livelihood opportunities of actors/actresses in Greece; their mobilisations during the same period. Findings show that despite the constraints imposed through containment and social-distancing measures, the enforced inactivity and the exposure of vulnerability incited collective discussions and triggered collective processes, due to fewer time constraints, but mainly because of the actors' own awareness of the precariousness of their working conditions.