Living up to a bohemian work ethic : balancing autonomy and risk in the symbolic economy of the performing arts

Empirical studies generally report that aspiring a career in the performing arts is risky business. Within the contemporary European context of neoliberal capitalism, the particular workforce is inclined to occupy a precarious socio-economic position. The authors contribute to this body of research by discussing how risk and precarity in the artworld are macro- and meso-governed by existing structures and micro-managed by agents. The data stems from empirical research conducted among members of the contemporary dance population in Brussels and Berlin. The authors focus for the most part on qualitative findings from longitudinal ethnographic fieldwork to discuss how the informants live up to a bohemian work ethic that is framed by a more general symbolic economy.