After the Spending Review, the campaigns continue

As the analysis of the Spending Review comes in, campaigning for the arts is set to continue, writes Julie McCalden.


Having been told to plan for 20% or 40% cuts, the arts are breathing a collective sigh of relief after the chancellor George Osborne’s Spending Review and Autumn Statement on Wednesday.

Had a 40% cut been implemented, Arts Council England’s budget would have been decimated to just £186m, compared to £453m in the final year of the Labour government and £325m at the end of the coalition.

In an unexpected move, Arts Council England were not only spared but promised a modest increase in cash (£10million per annum). National galleries and museums will also see increased budgets and free entry will be protected.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will still receive cuts of 20% to be targeted at its core administration budget (yet to be specified) and further cuts to local authority budgets of £6.1bn by 2019-20 will complicate matters.

If Arts Council England and National Portfolio Organisations have come out relatively unscathed, the picture is not so rosy for those at the bottom of the food chain.

While many artists, who are largely self-employed and low-paid, will be celebrating the u-turn on changes to tax-credits, concerns about the introduction of Universal Credit remain. In a joint statement released ahead of the spending review, the Scottish Artists Union (SAU) and Artists’ Union England (AUE) said: “We believe that the stringent enforcement conditions of Universal Credit will result in far greater hardship and debt for artists and makers in receipt of top-up benefits.”

The new conditions include a minimum level of assumed earnings based on hours worked and the minimum wage.Claimants are also required to submit monthly accounts, which is inconsistent with the variable frequency of artists’ paid work opportunities and the often lump-sum nature of their payments.

Creative education

The deterioration of creative education in schools is another concern for the sector. While Osborne promised increased funding to attract new teachers, this will be largely aimed at STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) to help implement plans for an English Baccalaureate (EBacc).

The EBacc requires pupils to study a minimum of seven GCSEs, but includes no creative subjects; risking art, dance, design, drama, music and other creative subjects disappearing from children’s education altogether. The Bacc for the future campaign aims to challenge plans for the EBacc, which risks eroding access to the arts for young people, increasing inequality of opportunity when it comes to experiencing culture and further diminishing entryways to working in the arts.

For those just embarking on their careers, changes to student loan repayments and housing benefit caps will add to the difficulties faced by artists when trying to establish their practices.

All of this will negatively impact on the lack of diversity that already characterises the arts. The findings of the recent Panic!survey into social mobility in the sector confirmed that class, gender and ethnicity still have a major influence on a person’s ability to enter, progress and succeed in the arts.

The survey revealed that it is becoming increasingly difficult for those without other means of financial support to break into the sector, with young people from less well-off backgrounds being at a particular disadvantage. This inequality inevitably results in the production of cultural forms that are mainly reflective of a small, and privileged, spectrum of human experience. The majority of people remain excluded both from arts production and consumption.

Greet with caution

So although on the face of it positive for the top rung of the arts, Osborne’s announcement should be greeted with caution. Not least because it has been based on a dramatic reassessment of economic forecasts by the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR), which landed Osborne a windfall of £27billion in time for his announcements.

His proposed budget allows no room for error on predictions wildly different to those made just five months ago. From an organisation without a great success rate in accurate forecasts this throws considerable doubt on the deliverability of Osborne’s promises.

However, it is good news that the chancellor acknowledged the economic benefits that the arts bring to Britain, commenting that a quarter of a £1trillion added to the economy from a £1billion investment was ‘not a bad return’. He went as far to say that “deep cuts in the small budget of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport are a false economy” – a point the sector has been arguing since 2010.

It is important that the sector now galvanises around these remarks, not just to hold Osborne to account in the event of adjustments to this budget impacting on the arts, but to begin to make bolder demands for increased funding. The Show Culture Some Love campaign supports the case for greater investment in arts and culture. Its main aims are to campaign for an end to the cuts in arts budgets caused by the pro-austerity policies of the current government and to make the case for increased investment.

Cultural campaigns

Paying Artists campaign
The Paying Artists campaign aims to secure payment for artists who exhibit in publicly-funded galleries. We believe paying artists for the work they do will mean that, in years to come, we’ll still be able to access quality art that reflects the broadest possible spectrum of human experience.

Whether you’re an artist, curator, gallery visitor, art student, policy maker or run a gallery, sign up to the campaign. You can join the debate by following @AIR_artists and using the hashtag #payingartists.

SAU / AUE on Universal Credit
A campaign has been launched by Scottish and English artists’ unions, with the aim of helping freelance and self-employed workers who will be affected by changes to the taxation and benefits system through the introduction of Universal Credit.

Supporters of the campaign can get involved by doing a number of things. This includes: downloading the campaign statement and forwarding to local MPs; arranging a meeting with your MP; and asking your MP to take the issue to the Department for Work & Pensions.

Bacc for the future
The Bacc for the future campaign aims to challenge the implementation of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) which currently includes no creative subjects and is expected to be undertaken by at least 90% of pupils.

As an individual, you can support the campaign by signing the petition and spread the word by telling your colleagues, friends and family as well as through social media using the hash tag #baccforthefuture.

Show Culture Some Love
The Show Culture Some Love campaign believes there is a powerful case against austerity and supports the case for greater investment in arts and culture.

You can support the campaign and their 6 pledges by liking the facebook page and inviting your friends to join, as well as following them on twitter.


http://www.payingartists.org.uk/2015/11/after-the-spending-review-the-campaigns-continue/

Artists to question politicians over fair pay in political hustings

Scottish artists campaigning for "fair pay" from galleries are to challenge political candidates in an election style-hustings event this weekend.

Two artist membership organisations, A-N and the Scottish Artists Union (SAU) will host an event in Glasgow with representatives political candidates from major parties.

The cultural hustings will be held at The Whisky Bond on Saturday, May 2.

The event will be chaired by Jim Tough, executive director of the Saltire Society, alongside a cultural panel that includes Kyla McDonald, artistic director of Glasgow Sculpture Studios, artist Sukaina Kubba, academic Emma Flynn and a representative from the Scottish Artists Union. 

The political panel will include Moira Crawford of the Green Party, Chris Young from the Liberal Democrats, Gordon McCaskill, Conservative, Brian Smith, Trade Union and Socialist Coalition, with an SNP and Labour candidate to be announced.

Janie Nicoll, an artist, said: "Some publicly-funded galleries pay artists fairly, others don't and getting them to be transparent and open about their payment policies is the first step to making sure we all get proper payment for the work we do.

"The hustings debate is about raising the awareness of election candidates so they understand the importance of the issue and use their influence to encourage galleries to spend tax payers' money in a way which supports fair payment."

The event is part of a nationwide campaign Paying Artists campaign based on research showing that 71% of artists do not get a fee for exhibiting in publicly funded galleries - with 63% of artists having to turn down gallery requests because they cannot afford to exhibit for nothing. 

The event coincides with the artist-led city wide Glasgow Open House Festival in which artists will showcase new work or ideas within public and domestic locations. 

This year the programme features 200 artists across 50 venues.

Phil Miller, Arts Correspondent

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/artists-to-question-politicians-over-fair-pay-in-political-hustings.124639764

Paying Artists by Moira Jeffrey on axis web

http://www.axisweb.org/features/news-and-views/in-focus/paying-artists-by-moira-jeffrey/

David McLeavy, Work! Work! Work! 2013. Image courtesy of Leon Read Photography

Guest columnist Moira Jeffrey examines the growing discussion around the need to pay artists

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I recently sat around a table in Edinburgh with more than a dozen artists, curators and other freelancers in the visual arts. Our workshop was part of a symposium, Labour of Love, devised by Jenny Richards, formerly of UK galleries Collective and Cubitt and now director of Konsthall C in Stockholm. 

Before we began a day that examined the way that artists are exploring the questions of work and workplaces, we endeavoured to understand our own relationship with labour.We drew diagrams that analysed how much of our weekly work might constitute part of our own core practice and how much was activity that subsidised or supported it. Somewhere in that equation we examined what we got paid for and what we did for free. 

The stark reality was that for everyone the peaks and troughs were in the wrong place, with work time outweighing studio time for artists, and the work we loved the most least likely to be remunerated. As a freelance writer (even when working on big projects with big institutions I’ve been employed only one year in the last 17) I am painfully aware that my own position is often contradictory. In the transactions of the cultural world sometimes I am the person in the room who is getting paid and sometimes the only unsalaried person at a table where everyone wants my opinion but no one will pay my train ticket.

The momentum around paying artists should be simple and unstoppable. Publicly funded organisations simply must do it. The Scottish Artists Union has long campaigned for equitable rates of pay and recently had its guidelines recognised by the funding body Creative Scotland. In September 2013 the SAU was joined by the Artist’s Union England. Arts Council England now requires its National Portfolio Organisations to embrace fair pay under strictures that their compliance will be monitored. 

The Arts Council of Northern Ireland has recognised the fee structures proposed by Visual Artists Ireland. The Arts Council of Ireland and Dublin City Council are amongst the bodies that stipulate that funding provided by them must clearly indicate payments for artists as a condition of their funding provision. Axisweb is one of many organisations and prominent individuals who have signed up to support The Paying Artists campaign led by a_n / AIR. Artists are in the process of building or reinforcing pay structures that reflect those of their colleagues in Equity, BECTU or the Musicians Union.

But if the position of artists pay in institutional and public relationships is now officially enshrined, why does it continue to be so dismal? As one part of the system finally lumbers into gear, much deeper shifts in the economies undermine it. The austerity agenda is biting deep into English culture budgets. The increases in casual, part-time and zero hours contracts as a mainstay of the wider economy are impacting on artists’ abilities to support their practice. Technology brings freedom but also a new understanding of “content” and “information” as freely available resources rather than the product of real time and labour.

Artists and freelance cultural workers have long-evolved strategies of exchange, mutual labour and self-support but artists are currently finding that a position at the forefront of new, more extensive “sharing economies” is not uncomplicated. Like the dilemmas of urban gentrification, exposing cracks in the system that can usefully be occupied for the mutual benefit of cultural workers often leaves them open to the shock troops of developers, corporations or more aggressive economic forces. And progress is very slow. Gallery cultures, residency schemes, commissioners and other individuals and organisations that should know better, still don’t get it. 

For younger artists there is the insidious suggestion that working for free creates opportunities.Some of this is part of wider employment culture of internships in culture and the creative industries. For more established artists, there is the expectation that senior status brings economic independence or that the market solves all problems. A senior contemporary artist recently told me that they personally paid for the production costs of a high profile show at one of the most prominent public venues in the country. There was insufficient budget because there was the expectation that, at their level, a commercial gallery would shell out.

The issue of course is not only rates of pay for sessional work or exhibition fees, although these are essential places to start. It is about the availability of housing, of affordable studio spaces, of production resources and about job availability and job mobility in those traditional sectoral roles where artists often work such as gallery technicians, educators and information assistants.

The question of equal access to culture has recently become a stick with which politicians like to beat institutions, but the question of who gets to make culture is less spoken about in the era of tuition fees and the housing crisis. There is no use grumbling about posh people in the arts from Marcus Mumford to Eddie Redmayne if we don’t recognise and address the systemic failings and web of inequalities that transformed the radical social mobility of cultural education in the sixties to the finishing school it is now. The excellent work of the Arts Emergency campaign sets out to overturn the trend by mentoring and activism.

What can we do? Well we must be open. We must try to recognise our own positions and blind spots.Writers and editors like myself must think much harder about what we ask artists to do in terms of their time, resources and use of their images or intellectual capital. Institutions must use their spending power both wisely and imaginatively to support artists. And we must examine them openly if they fail to do so. They must subject their policies around volunteering or internships to thorough ethical and legal scrutiny. But above all they need to think strategically and holistically about what paying artists actually means. 

It means production budgets as well as fees; it means travel expenses, it means thinking hard about organising and locating meetings and paying artists for their time on installation for example. It means thinking genuinely and developmentally about what opportunities really are and distinguishing them from exploitation or unfair labour demarcation. It means understanding artists support both as a fees table and as an ecology that should be considered at all times. Above all when artists say no thanks as much as yes please, all of us must listen.

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Contributed by Moira Jeffrey, April 2015

Moira Jeffrey is a writer based in Glasgow. 

Artists Union England AGM

Today I attended the 1st Artists Union England (AUE) AGM, held in the Fine Art Lecture Theatre at Newcastle University.

I recently became a member having moved to England, and am excited to be part of this very important union. It was lovely to meet such a committed group of artists from all over the UK.

There are currently over 500 AUE members, but this is continually increasing and the power of the union will grow with more members, so please do sign up if you are not already a member!

Emily Porter delivered an inspiring and breathtaking presentation about how she set up a union in Iraq. Sadly it became of Saddam's regime.

A number of motions were proposed and agreed, and then reports were given from the various working groups already established.

Current issues that are being raised in the working groups include

The impact of Universal Credit on artists
Student membership and membership criteria to join AUE
Rates of pay
Ageism in the Arts
Conditions of Studios

The event closed with Wajid Jussain giving a wonderful performance of his own poem, It is What We Do

Lots to get our teeth into, but with more members we will have more effect, so please read more and sign up for only £30 per year.

http://www.artistsunionengland.org.uk

Undertow: A Provocation for the Scottish Artists Union by Harry Giles, for SAU AGM

Artist, writer Harry Giles was asked to create a provocation for the Scottish Artists Union AGM to be held on 28th September 2014. Harry responded to the brief knowing this would be recorded before the Independence Referendum (on 18th September) but screened after the event...


http://youtu.be/fyiTlcHWXsg

Scottish Artists Union AGM

As I made my journey from Newcastle up to Scotland I wondered what the atmosphere would be like following the referendum. 

I did not detect a deflated atmosphere that I'd been warned about, but maybe that was because of the nature of the event that I was attending: The Scottish Artists Union AGM, at which I was giving the Treasurers report.
Amongst the routine AGM business, the Scottish Artists Union AGM agenda was filled with stimulating presentations and debate.

Firstly, Angela Kennedy, Chair of the relatively newly formed Artists Union England (AUE), presented 'Solidarity across borders, Unionism in the arts - Activism and working collectively.' 

Angela discussed the factors that prompted the formation of the AUE, and what they set out to do.

"Artists’ Union England is a new trade union for professional visual and applied artists.


We aim to represent artists at strategic decision-making levels and positively influence the role artists play within society.


We aim to challenge the economic inequalities in the art world and to negotiate fair pay and better working conditions for artists.


We aim to work with other unions, arts organisations, government bodies and cultural institutions whilst remaining both independent and transparent.


We aim towards consensus decision-making, an active grass roots membership and involvement over a wide geographical spread."


Angela talked about how artist members have requested that AUE investigates factors including sexism, ageism, disability discrimination, low pay and zero hour contracts, and commented about the universality of these issues, hoping that because they are not just concerns for artists, that this will attract more general support and backing from non-artists.


More information about AUE can be found on their website, and I am looking forward to getting more involved.


http://www.artistsunionengland.org.uk


Chris Kelly's presentation about the annual SAU Members Survey provided good support for some of the things that Angela had been talking about. This, the third members survey to be conducted, provides good data about working conditions of artists.

Some key figures include:


- in the year 2012-2013, 67% of SAU members earned £5,000 or less (after tax), and only 21% earned between £5000-£10000 (after tax)


- 62% of SAU members consistently get paid less than the SAU recommended rates of pay


- 48% of SAU members do not get contracts consistently


Given this evidence, it is difficult to understand why people are questioning why artists need a union. We discussed the kind of direction that members want the union to take.

This lead neatly to Harry Giles' video presentation titled 'Politics and economics post-referendum, whatever the result'
Giles talked about the need to be prepared for cuts in taxes and in funding. He was recently artist in residence at Govanhill Baths, and was delighted at the way that different groups within the community had come together to work towards a single aim. He proposed that this would be a good model to follow for the unions, rather like the way that two communities (Lesbians and Gays and the National Union of Mineworkers) supported each other, as documented in the recent film, Pride, which I saw last week. 

Pride is a powerful account of a true story, and follows the Lesbian and Gays Support the Miners campaign. It shows what can be achieved when different groups work together to essentially fight for the same basic human rights. 

Applying this to our current climate, we discussed how different unions could find a common cause in the interest of all the members. Such issues could include universal credit and different forms of discrimination.

The day was brought to an end with a short presentation by Jack Richardson on the Paying Artists campaign. 
"Launched on 19 May, the Paying Artists campaign seeks to raise awareness of the value of artists within publicly-funded exhibitions and gallery programmes.
Informed both by independent research into artists' perceptions of the value of the exhibition process within their practice along with data on their income from arts practice, and in-depth interviews with artists at a range of career stages and with curators and gallery directors about their approaches and practices, the campaign aims to secure the future of the visual arts in the UK through creating equality of opportunity for artists, based on their talent and potential for innovation rather than on their ability to self-finance their exhibitions when held in publicly-funded galleries.
The research and campaign, which is a combined effort beween a-n - The Artists Information Company and AIR - Artists Interaction and Representation, has attracted a groundswell of support from across the UK and internationally, highlighting artists' pay and working conditions as a "global issue"."
For more information visit

http://www.payingartists.org.uk

http://www.cvan.org.uk/news/2014/6/13/paying-artists-campaign-gathers-momentum

SAU Independence Discussion - Video footage online

On 25th June 2014 the Scottish Artists Union hosted an Independence Discussion Forum event at Stereo, Glasgow , chaired by Jim Tough, (Saltire Society), with speakers Sarah Beattie Smith, Ewan Morrison, Ken McLeod and Kevin Williamson.


Andy Kennedy kindly documented the event, which is available here now:

youtu.be/MF7f4xUlVPc

Thanks also go to the speakers and the audience for all their contributions.

Scottish Artists Union website gets a new look

Over the last year, the Scottish Artists Union executive committee have been working with Glasgow-based web web-designers, Level Pages to give the SAU website a bit of a makeover, and to make it easier for the exec to add new items and update it.

After much hard work and a few inevitable glitches, the new-look website is up and running. We are still making minor corrections, but please do have a look at it and let us know what you think.

http://www.sau.org.uk/home/

SAU invites you to a Scottish Independence Discussion Forum

SAU presents "A Scottish Independence Forum" in conjunction with Stereo's Living Room: Exploring the Referendum."

With representatives from both sides of the debate, this is an opportunity for SAU members to ask questions about the upcoming Independence Referendum and how it could affect the arts in Scotland.

6-7.30pm Wednesday 25th June 2014, at Stereo bar/cafe, 22-28 Renfield Lane, Glasgow, G2 5AR

All welcome!
www.stereocafebar.com

More details to follow...

Scottish Artists Union Members Survey results

As promised, here are a selection of findings from the Scottish Artists Union's (SAU) Members survey:

65% of respondents earn £5000 or less per year (after tax)

20% of respondents earn between £5000 - £10000 per year (after tax)

56% of respondents consistently get less than the Scottish Artists Union's Recommended Rate of Pay (RRP)

51% of respondents seldom get contracts for work they do

74% of respondents seldom or never receive exhibition payment fees

Scottish Artists Union AGM - Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh

I find it hard to believe that it is a year since I became a member of the Scottish Artists Union Executive Committee, and there has been a lot of activity in that past year, as reported at yesterday's AGM.

 

After a few of the formalities, Financial Report, Election of new Executive Committee and Proposed motions, SAU Secretary Chris Kelly presented the results from the 2013 Members Survey.

This major piece of research is highly useful evidence to support some of the points that the SAU are 'fighting for'. There are too many results to discuss them all here, but  will reveal some of these findings in later posts so keep checking my blog!

After a short comfort break (i.e. a chance to catch up with fellow SAU members), SAU Vice President Janie Nicoll delivered a brief presentation about her recent participation in the engage International Summer School held in Padua, Italy. The Summer School was focused on 'Leadership and Resilience in gallery education.

About engage

engage is a membership organisation representing gallery, art and education professionals in the UK and over 20 countries worldwide. engage promotes access to, enjoyment and understanding of the visual arts through gallery education. 

More  information about engage and the Summer School can be seen on the engage website:

http://www.engage.org/Summer-School-2013

The AGM closed with a great presentation by guest speaker Richie Cumming who discussed his work with Creative Stirling and the '14OURZERO2014' project

1NE4OURZERO2014 is the second incarnation of Creative Stirling’s Freedom Versions

 

In summer of 2012 the yard of the Old Town Jail in Stirling was transformed by a large-scale collaborative installation of visual art, musical performance and printed written word exploring the themes of freedom, independence, colonisation and alienation.

The project created a process where Scots people could reflect on the question of independence beyond polarised political debate and through the lens of Scottish culture and heritage. They wanted to create a platform to explore the role of artists and thinkers in Scotland on the question of our contemporary cultural identity.

One of the outcomes of the project was an exhibition of 40 hand screen-printed poster works consisting of the most considered, inspired and powerful statements, poetic/prosaic lines, comments and ideas concerning the landscape of a post-referendum Scotland as submitted by the public; artists, plumbers, engineers, housewives, students and people from all walks.

The installation included a working print studio run by artists and designers employing traditional print methods and the content for the exhibition grew and evolved over the six week installation as responses were gathered.

The project lives on and more information can be found on the website http://1ne4ourzero2014.tumblr.com/

Great news - SAU Membership hits 1000

One thousand artists are now members of the Scottish Artists Union.

This number benchmarks the achievement by visual and applied artists in Scotland, who despite current personal economic difficulties, have recognised the need for a strong and campaigning Union. 

The increase in membership, since the inception of the Union thirteen years ago, is evidence of the increasing need for a collective, consistent and reasoned critical engagement. 

The ultimate aim of the Union is for fair working conditions for all artists in the cultural life of Scotland. 

For more information, please visit

http://www.sau.org.uk/newsroom/readnews.php

SAU Petition to Creative Scotland

SAU Petition to Creative Scotland

As part of the Scottish Artists Union's business, at the recent AGM a proposal was made by the executive committee to approach Creative Scotland with a set of demands. 

We are initiating a petition aiming to gather evidence of support for the following proposals.

 

The Scottish Artists Union demands that Creative Scotland

 

· Adopts transparent decision-making processes, involving artists in all decision-making that affects artists and providing clear feedback on all decisions. 

· Provides a reliable, accessible and effective infrastructure for artists and makers focused on the long term sustainability of the sector and its organisations.

·  Ensures through Grant Offers that all organisations in receipt of CS investment use appropriate Contracts.

·  Endorses and adopts all Union Recommended Rates of Pay for artists as minimum levels, and ensure through Grant Offers that all organisations in receipt of Creative Scotland grants and investments at a minimum implement these rates.

·  Makes the payment of exhibition fees (in addition to any other relevant commissions, fees and expenses) mandatory for all organisations in receipt of grants and investments.

· Monitors the implementation of all of these measures through grant and investment reporting requirements.

It is very important that as many people as possible sign this petition.

http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/creative-scotland-to-implement-policies-to-improve-conditions-of-artists-and-makers?share_id=swufTBehXK&utm_campaign=petition_creator_email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_petition

Please support this action by signing the petition. Offering evidence to Government and Creative Scotland that there is support for these changes, can influence positively the outcome of recent events.

Scottish Artists Union AGM, DCA, Dundee

Today I attended the Scottish Artists Union (SAU) Annual General Meeting, which was held at DCA, Dundee.

It was rather disappointing that despite having over 900 members, there were only about 40 people (including some non-members) at what was an interesting event.

I am pleased that, along with Deniz Üster I was elected onto the new Executive Committee, and look forward to being more involved with the SAU.

A couple of motions were proposed, one coming from a member and the other (made up of 7 component parts all relating to Creative Scotland) from the executive. After in depth debate, both were accepted.

Lorraine Simpson then delivered a superb presentation on the findings of her research into the Public Entertainment License (PEL). The SAU had commissioned Lorraine to carry out this research, and the report will be available on the SAU website within the next few weeks.

Simpson contacted all of the Local Authorities to gain an understanding of their position in relation to the change in the PEL. Only 3 Local Authorities have specified that individuals and organisations hosting free events such as exhibitions, Open Studios, workshops will need to apply for a license. 9 Local Authorities (Glasgow included) have not yet decided upon their stance, and the other Local Authorities are not going to insist upon a PEL for free events. Lorraine reported that most Local Authorities were very reasonable, and that it is worth artists talking to them about their plans.

The next presentation was about the SAU members survey. The results were somewhat grim. 59% of respondents have never received and exhibition payment, over 70% of respondents earned less that £5000 from their practice last year, and 85% have not been issued with contracts.

This lead nicely into Janie Nicol reporting on the WAGE event that happened just over a week ago in Glasgow (see earlier blog post for information about this).

Donald Urquhart was the guest artist speaker, and concluded the day by discussing his work in relation to collaborative practice.

All in all it was a good event, managing to be more than a business report, and marking the start of some exciting investigations.

WAGE RAGE

Tonight I attended the public meeting to address the need for artists' exhibition fees in non-profit art institutions in Glasgow and beyond.

The event was introduced by artist Charlotte Prodger and then short presentations were given by Isla Leaver-Yap (Freelance Curator), Corin Sworn (Artist) and the Scottish Artists Union. Lise Soskolne, co-organiser of W.A.G.E (Working Artists And The Greater Economy) delivered the main presentation. 




For more information about W.A.G.E, please visit http://www.wageforwork.com

Lots of interesting points were raised, but I will share these with you when I am more awake!