‘If the art ends up being pretty, making it here won’t be’: examining precarity, neoliberalism, and artists’ labour on CBC’s Crash Gallery.
Faculty Advisor
Date
2025
Keywords
Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC), Crash Gallery, neoliberal priorities, federal arts, working conditions
Abstract (summary)
Background: In 2015, the Canadian Broadcasting Company launched Crash Gallery, a reality TV series in which artists from across Canada compete in playful challenges.
Analysis: This article analyzes the impact of neoliberal priorities on federal arts funding and CBC television programming. It considers the imprint of neoliberalism on depictions of artists and artistic labour on Crash Gallery via themes of: individual competition and meritocracy; temporary and precarious work; flexibility and non-routine ways of working; compulsory sociality and emotional labour; and hazardous working conditions.
Conclusions and implications: Crash Gallery’s depictions of artists as flexible, passionate, and willing to work under hazardous circumstances naturalizes and valorizes neoliberal working conditions for artists in Canada.
Publication Information
McDonald, Robin Alex, and Peters, Wendy. “‘If the Art Ends up Being Pretty, Making It Here Won’t Be’: Examining Precarity, Neoliberalism, and Artists’ Labour on CBC’s Crash Gallery.” Canadian Journal of Communication, vol. 50, no. 2, 2025, pp. 249–277. https://doi.org/10.3138/cjc-2024-0056
Notes
Item Type
Article
Language
Rights
All Rights Reserved