Grindvakter till svenska scenen : sociala nätverks roll i invandrade scenkonstnärers etablering på svenska arbetsmarknaden

Sammanfattning: The purpose of the study is to investigate how immigrant performing artists have entered the Swedish labour market in the Swedish performing arts profession. Four main questions were considered in the study: 1) Who, and in what capacity, contributed to the artist’s professional success in Sweden, 2) How the artists’ social and cultural capital has contributed to their success, 3) What role does social networking play in the success of these artists, 4) What type of barriers have the artists encountered.Two career theories were applied in the study: Careership theory and the Social Cognitive Career Theory. The qualitative data for the study was acquired through seven interviews. Methods used for analysis were social network analysis of ego-net in combination with analysis of the interview content. The main conclusion from the results of the analysis show that the use of social networks with the right type of contacts and the social and cultural capital of the artists was instrumental in their ability to succeed in the performing arts profession in Sweden. Barriers to establishment in the performing arts profession in Sweden include gatekeepers, normative exclusion, and lack of profession specific language skills.