Precarious creativity: immigrant cultural workers

As people taking risks to refashion their lives in new locations, and as super-creative persons who innovate in the cultural realm, immigrant cultural workers would seem ideal recruits for cities eager to pursue the creative city agenda for growth. Cultural workers immigrate because of personal connections, individual choices and serendipitous circumstances. Their ability to continue to work in the cultural sector in smaller urban regions depends on factors such as the market response to their artistic medium, the permeability of local social networks and family circumstances. Even as public policy celebrates innovation and diversity, immigrant cultural workers experience precarious creativity.