Employment of migrants and their professional development in the cultural and creative industries in the Czech Republic

The issue of employment of foreigners in the Czech Republic is captured and discussed in many studies, but cultural and creative workers from abroad are hardly mentioned. This work aims to look into the experiences of immigrants working in culture and art in the Czech Republic and to find factors that support or hinder their professional application. As part of the case study, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with immigrants who have been living and employed in the Czech Republic for a long time and who come from third countries. The collected data were coded and interpreted using thematic analysis. The research carried out as part of this bachelor's thesis revealed two remarkable findings. The first is that the careers of foreign artists and cultural workers have been largely influenced by a number of supporting and complicating factors. The second finding points to the absence of sufficient professional support services for newcomers. The interviews showed that artists and cultural workers want to gain the trust of the artistic and cultural community, be part of a professional network and apply their professional competences on the Czech labour market. The conclusions offered by this work cannot be applied in general, as they are based on the individual experiences of the respondents. However, they can serve as a starting point for further research.