On January 20, 2026, the Report on Working Conditions in the Art and Culture Sector in Spain was presented, an initiative organized by Artepreneur and ITGallery, in collaboration with Artizense.
The event took place in the auditorium of the Alcalá 31 Exhibition Hall in Madrid and featured the participation of Rebeca Marín Fraile, a journalist specialized in art and cultural communication; María Gracia de Pedro, founder and director of Artepreneur; Abián Zaya, founder and director of ITGallery; and was moderated by María Macías, founder and director of Artizense.
The event opened with a welcome address by María Macías, who contextualized the presentation and outlined the motivations that made the development of such a report necessary. The survey project and subsequent report respond to a long-standing need within the sector: the lack of systematized and accessible data on working conditions, professional roles, and salary levels. As she highlighted, this absence generates significant misinformation for both professionals and managers of galleries and cultural organizations, hindering career planning, opportunity assessment, and the professionalization of the sector.
The objective of the report is to bring transparency to the sector by providing real data that enable a more informed dialogue and contribute to a fairer, more sustainable, and more balanced labor ecosystem. María Macías also explained Artizense’s role in the project, emphasizing its commitment to the dissemination and analysis of information relevant to the artistic community.
Subsequently, Abián Zaya detailed the methodology used to produce the report, based on an online survey conducted between November 3 and December 3, 2025. This first study focuses on specific profiles and organizations within the sector and combines quantitative and qualitative data to offer a rigorous overview of remuneration, career progression, and job satisfaction. Zaya noted that the collected information makes it possible to identify trends, areas for improvement, and opportunities for professional development, thereby supporting strategic decision-making within the Spanish cultural ecosystem.
María Gracia de Pedro provided a general overview of the sector and presented a profile of the professionals surveyed. The survey results show a majority presence of micro-enterprises (58%), followed by small companies (24%), and medium-sized and large organizations (both at 9%). There is a predominance of professionals with university or postgraduate education (68%) and a strong female representation (80%). The regions with the highest participation were the Community of Madrid, Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Andalusia, reflecting the concentration of artistic and cultural activity in these areas of Spain.
During her intervention, the founder of Artepreneur also pointed out the reluctance that exists in Spain when it comes to discussing salaries, a topic that in other countries is fully normalized, even more so than personal or intimate matters. This silence highlights salary disparities and, often, job insecurity, as well as the fear that professionals may experience when comparing their situation with that of others—an issue that reinforces the need to generate transparency and reliable data on working conditions in the artistic and cultural fields.
The session continued with María Macías, who presented some of the key findings of the report and posed questions to the panel participants, generating a dynamic and enriching dialogue. Among the most notable data were:
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80% of survey respondents are women, confirming a structural pattern within the art and culture sector in Spain.
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Nearly 6 out of 10 participants are under the age of 40, demonstrating that the present of the art world is young and active, with a committed generation seeking better working conditions.
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Expectations vs. labor reality: only 8% of respondents work remotely, revealing a contemporary sector with outdated working dynamics.
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Confidence in the labor market: 38% of participants expressed low confidence in the current functioning of the art and culture sector in Spain, calling into question its stability and underlying practices.
Abián Zaya highlighted that in recent years the sector has made significant progress in the use of digital tools, adapting to new forms of communication and cultural management. He noted that this evolution, although uneven depending on the context of each organization, has helped optimize processes, improve project dissemination, and open up new development opportunities, contributing to the partial modernization of a sector that has traditionally been highly presential and conservative.
Rebeca Marín Fraile placed particular emphasis on the fundamental role played by women in the art and culture sector in Spain. She pointed out that although more women are reaching leadership and decision-making positions, this remains anecdotal given that 80% of those who sustain the sector’s foundational work are women. She compared inequalities in labor relations to those existing between artists and gallerists, highlighting the lack of contracts that define the conditions of these professional relationships, and stressed the situation faced by many artists as workers.
She also emphasized that many galleries maintain archaic structures inherited from more than 50 years ago, which limit innovation and perpetuate labor inequalities. In conversation with María Macías, they further pointed out the paradox of the shift from luxury to precariousness, whereby despite the exclusivity and high incomes associated with art, many professionals face economic instability—underscoring the need for policies that protect and recognize talent at all levels of the sector.
Throughout the discussion, the speakers reflected on the need to create a more equitable and transparent working environment, underlining the importance of having clear data to guide professional careers and promote good practices within the sector.
Following the presentation and discussion of these points and reflections, the floor was opened to the audience. Attendees shared opinions and reflections arising from the data presented and the speakers’ interventions, creating a close and engaged atmosphere. Their contributions demonstrated a strong commitment to the sector’s challenges, as well as a clear awareness of structural problems and opportunities for improving working conditions in art and culture in Spain.
The presentation concluded with a shared sense that beyond artistic creation, it is essential to understand and analyze the labor and professional context of the sector. This first report represents a pioneering step toward making working conditions visible, opening informed conversations, and contributing to a stronger and more sustainable cultural ecosystem in Spain.
Activity subsidized by the Ministry of Culture.