work it out #3 | focus: self-employment

How can I be and remain a freelancer? This is the starting question for this edition of the series on employment models and forms of employment from the perspective of contractors and clients. Our working world in the cultural sector is characterised by individual projects and teams that come together at short notice and on a temporary basis. Self-employment is usually the form of employment desired and utilised by both sides. However, it still often does not fit in with the requirements of public funding and has to be defended time and again.

Together with the speakers, we shed light on topics such as self-employed forms of business and VAT liability, tendering and contract awarding processes, or necessary contract formulations and associated liability issues as well as social security and cultural/political association and lobbying work from a practical perspective.

This format brings together Inge Zysk, an experienced producer perspective from the field, and Hikmat El-Hammouri from ver.di, a perspective from union work that is increasingly focussing on the issues of the self-employed and is also increasingly concerned with the cultural sector. In this way, a link can be drawn between practice and political communication and advocacy work, which is often not directly accessible to self-employed actors.

The workshop series work it out: employment models in the cultural sector is dedicated to topics relating to working constellations (freelance, permanent, hybrid) and aims to structure the complex issues in our cultural sector and answer them from a practical perspective.

• part #1: fixed - freelance: either/or/and | 18.06.2025, 10 - 14

• part #2: focus: permanent employment | 11.09.2025, 10 - 14

• part #3: focus: self-employment | 02.10.2025, 10 - 14

more info on the contextual framework of the series: here

There will be breaks.
There might be breakout sessions.

inge zysk
For over twenty years Inge Zysk has been working for international choreographers and institutions in Berlin, Germany and Europe with numerous tasks such as production management, acquisition, tour management, proposal writing, PR concepts, networking.

hikmat el-hammouri
Trade union secretary at ver.di in the field of art and culture, public service wage coordination for the music and theatre and stage sections

The series is aimed in particular at producers and interested cultural workers with a focus on the performing arts. The series assumes a certain amount of work experience, as we do not start from the basics, but want to share the many existing basic resources and try to respond to gaps in this series, sharpen generally available information for the cultural sector, educate ourselves further together and deepen focus topics.