The Assembly of the People’s Representatives adopted, on Tuesday evening, the entirety of the bill relating to the artist and artistic professions (No. 55/2023), by 76 votes in favor, one abstention, and no votes against, following the examination of its articles during a plenary session devoted to this legislative text.
This law comprises 45 articles. It aims in particular to establish a new legal framework organizing the artistic sector in its various components and defining the rights and duties of artists and professionals in the arts trades, in a context marked by rapid professional and technological changes in the cultural sector.
This legislative text is part of a revision of the current legal framework governing the artistic trades, deemed by the initiators of the proposal and several sector stakeholders as no longer able to keep pace with the evolution of artistic activities and the emergence of new specialties, in addition to the limits of the social and professional protection offered to workers in the field.
The law includes a set of provisions relating to the organization of the exercise of the artistic trades, through the introduction of a professional card for the artist and for professionals in the artistic trades, for which it sets the granting and withdrawal conditions, as well as the organization of the contractual relationship through the adoption of an artistic contract defining the rights and obligations of the different parties.
It also provides for strengthening the social protection of artists, taking into account the specificity of artistic activity, often characterized by instability and intermittent periods of work, for both employees and self-employed workers.
The text also includes provisions aimed at supporting national cultural production, through setting minimum quotas for the diffusion of Tunisian artistic works in audiovisual media, as well as organizing the participation of foreign artists in events and artistic activities in Tunisia.
Among the new features introduced by this law is also the inclusion of areas related to digital arts and artificial intelligence among the artistic professions, in order to accompany recent technological changes and to develop the regulatory framework governing the sector.
The adoption of this law was preceded by a series of hearings and debates within the Tourism, Culture, Services and Craft Commission of the Assembly of the People’s Representatives. These proceedings brought together representatives of professional and union structures as well as several actors from the cultural and artistic sector, before the text was transmitted to the plenary session for adoption.
