June 15, 2021

Read the call of 108 EU & US organisations to facilitate visa and work permit conditions for artists and cultural professionals

The EMEE network is among the 108 signatories of this important letter to the EU and the US leaders for facilitate visa and work permit conditions for artists and cultural professionals.

Read the full letter below:

As EU and US leaders will meet in June, more than 100 organisations from across Europe’s and America’s cultural and creative sectors are uniting their voices to call for attention to the EU-US cultural relations, of particular importance to recover from the Corona crisis.

The EU and the US are highly important export markets for culture. Cultural service accounted for 5,961.5 bln € of export to US in 2019 and for 2,575.1 of import in the EU.

The Corona-crisis has hit both trade partners severely. Concerts, performances and events stood still for more than a year, with no traveling and touring in either direction. According to a study conducted by EY on the impact of the pandemic the music and performing arts sector in Europe were hit worst with 70% and 90% less turnover in 2020. It is expected that only towards the end of 2021 this will slowly resume, with severe consequences on the live events business between the US and the EU. The cultural community needs a strong political signal which gives hope and prospect. But the strongest obstacles to make this happen are the difficulties that artists, crew and cultural professionals encounter which relate to cumbersome and costly visa processing when traveling to the USA for the purpose of work and the great variety of conditions US artists face to obtain work permits in the different countries of the EU. Reducing the obstacles to visas and work permits is therefore an essential instrument to bring hope, future and a new start of cultural exchange between the two continents. Toward this ends, experts in the EU and US would be glad to jointly prepare recommendations, and we welcome the chance to provide you with these recommendations.
Whilst the US and EU can be proud of a thriving cultural exchange, we, the artist communities on both sides of the Atlantic call upon you for a solution-oriented approach as regards artist mobility. Artist mobility produces a backbone of additional trade (flights, hotels, catering, hire of local services, road haulage, local taxes, etcetera) and thus generate income for many other side industries.
Reducing the obstacles to visas and work permits is, therefore, an essential instrument to bring hope, future and a new start of cultural exchange between the two continents.

We thank you for your attention.

Read here the 108 signatories.