Arte, vida e cidade:

as percepções do trabalho no campo da cultura

Abstract

This article aims to depict the perceptions of art for professionals in the culture sector in the city of Joinville, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The research carried out consists of a qualitative survey whose procedure was conducting interviews with five professionals from the cultural sector. The interviews were conducted through a semi-structured script, were recorded, transcribed, and categorized thematically. From the categories generated in this process, three thematic cores received the analytical treatment and constitute the results of this research, namely: 1) trajectories in the field of art, reflecting the link between art and life and which issues boosted the professional insertion of research participants in the cultural context; 2) networks and interactions with local art, which reflect the relationship interviewees build among themselves and how these same interactions promote other art and culture projects; and 3) perception of work in the cultural sector and motivations in this area. Based on the analyses, it is noticed that being inserted in the cultural context produces personal and professional fulfilment, and despite the setbacks, working with art in cultural sectors enables a continuous relationship with the field, as well as with the artistic practice. The research proved to be relevant to the local context and significant to the Psychology and Art interface.