Will artists’ interests always remain peripheral to Arts Council England's main priority of ensuring the resilience of arts institutions? Susan Jones isn't optimistic.
Arts policy has wrestled with the thorny issue of artists’ livelihoods, or lack of, for over three decades. Somewhat depressingly, TBR’s newly-published analysis of incomes and work preferences of over 2,000 artists calls into question the effectiveness of Arts Council strategies since the millennium in bringing tangible improvement. During 2014/15 earnings from art practice contributed just 37% of artists’ annual income from all sources, with their overall income representing 58% of average annual salaries. Echoing a raft of creative industries research, TBR identifies significant income disadvantage for women. Although female artists dominate the visual artists’ constituency, they earn over a quarter less per year than their male counterparts. Considerable economic inequality is also found amongst artists with disabilities and those from lower social classes and ethnic minorities... Keep reading onContemporary Visual Arts Network
Arts policy has wrestled with the thorny issue of artists’ livelihoods, or lack of, for over three decades. Somewhat depressingly, TBR’s newly-published analysis of incomes and work preferences of over 2,000 artists calls into question the effectiveness of Arts Council strategies since the millennium in bringing tangible improvement. During 2014/15 earnings from art practice contributed just 37% of artists’ annual income from all sources, with their overall income representing 58% of average annual salaries. Echoing a raft of creative industries research, TBR identifies significant income disadvantage for women. Although female artists dominate the visual artists’ constituency, they earn over a quarter less per year than their male counterparts. Considerable economic inequality is also found amongst artists with disabilities and those from lower social classes and ethnic minorities... Keep reading on Contemporary Visual Arts Network