Platforms and collectives for working-class creatives

If you’ve ever felt like the creative industry wasn’t built with you in mind, you’re not alone. Across the UK, working-class creatives are joining forces to make things fairer – creating spaces to connect, collaborate and find support. From grassroots collectives to national mentoring schemes, these communities are breaking down barriers and opening up new routes into creative work.

Breaking into the creative industry is challenging at the best of times – but it’s even harder if you come from a working-class or low-income background. Despite growing conversations around access and representation, the numbers tell a worrying story: the proportion of working-class people in UK creative roles has fallen from 26% in 2020 to 19% in 2023 (ArtsProfessional, 2025).

In some sectors, the gap is even wider. Only 8.4% of people working in film, TV, radio and photography come from working-class backgrounds (The Guardian, 2024) — while research by Creative Access found that 64% of respondents believe working-class people are under-represented in their industry, and 73% of working-class respondents cite a lack of senior working-class representation as a major barrier (Creative Access, 2024).

In response, working-class creatives across the UK are taking matters into their own hands – building collectives, networks and platforms that push for change from the ground up. Here are eight leading the way.