When we glorify the idea of a struggling artist, we perpetuate the idea that artists are meant to be poor; that they don’t deserve a living wage. When we look to artists for hope, healing and support within our communities in the form of social services beyond arts programming, but take their work for granted, we stipulate that being an artist is not a real job. These narratives are particularly entrenched in the United States, and we need to push back against them in order to mitigate the damage. Creatives, artists and storytellers are workers who deserve the dignity of a living wage for their important contributions to our social fabric and our economy. Artists help us process social, racial, and environmental upheaval, imagine new ways forward, and spark meaningful action. Yet, in many ways, philanthropy and the broader nonprofit industrial complex in the United States fail them.
A suite of recent studies by Yancey Consulting, Americans for the Arts (AFTA)And Collaborative advisory group reveals the hard blows the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt creatives as well as the systemic vulnerabilities and inequalities creatives faced before the pandemic. According to AFTA, 95% of creators have lost creative income, their total income has dropped from about $33,000 to $13,500 (about $800 above the poverty line), and 55% have exhausted their savings. Respondents with disabilities, transgender, color, and less educated experienced disproportionately negative economic impacts.
Through our Creativity and Self-Expression program, the Ford Foundation invests in arts organizations and storytellers to shape a more just society. A recent evaluation conducted by SMU DataArts from our arts and culture portfolio shows, on the one hand, that decent salaries and sufficient financial resources are the two most pressing concerns of artists. On the other hand, the arts organizations we support overestimate the extent to which they provide essential income and support to artists.
Here are nine ways arts and philanthropy funders can strengthen their support for artists:
- Giving more decision-making power to artists
Artists know best what they need to advance their art and thrive — hire artists as funders and advisors. Support organizations founded and led by creatives.
Invest in artist-led funds like the Constellations Fund for Cultural Change at the Center of Cultural Power, a three-year, $23 million initiative to support creatives in organizations of color and cultural strategy.
- The artists of the center most affected by inequalities
Use an intersectional approach to center artists impacted by economic inequality, racism, ableism, sexism, heterosexism, transphobia and xenophobia. It also means thinking about who is in leadership positions and who has access to all levels of your organization. Join us at Disability & Philanthropy Forum And United donors for trans communities to learn more.
- Strengthen collaboration among arts funders
Help build momentum for initiatives such as Artist relief, a coalition of national funders who have come together to provide $25 million in funding and resources to artists during the pandemic. Invest in the Partners of the Intercultural Leadership Institutecollaborative service organizations rooted in Black, Indigenous, and Colored cultures and aesthetics.
- Engage non-arts funders working on issues of common interest
Break down funding silos. Integrate creative strategies into the work of the social justice movement, from civic engagement to climate justice to justice for migrants. Look to crossover efforts led by emerging artists such as culture wave, HarnessAnd For freedoms as role models and partners in matters that matter to you.
- Offer as much flexibility as possible to the artists you support
Often, project-specific grants are operationally and creatively limiting. Provide unlimited, multi-year support to artists to ensure they have agency and can plan ahead for their art and their lives. Support debt relief. Offer dollars for inflation. Add funds for access needs. Fund sabbaticals. Fund space and time for wellness and healing.
- Explore Guaranteed Income and Artist Employment Programs
We are at a time of radical experimentation to increase the economic stability of vulnerable communities. A compelling model is Creatives are rebuilding New Yorka three-year, $125 million effort that will provide 2,700 New York-based artists with guaranteed income and employment opportunities in community organizations.
- Add value beyond grant dollars
Beyond your grants, funders can connect artists to research tools, technology, financial planning, collective bargaining strategies, partners, and other resources. The recent wave of unionization in museums and cultural organizations must be recognized and supported.
- Holding beneficiary organizations accountable
Consider compensation and benefit levels for artists and staff as part of your grant application and reporting processes. Pay attention to how recipient organizations engage artists and workers in shaping economic decisions that impact their lives. Direct them to key resources and programs. For example, the Certification Artists-workers and big economywhich establishes minimum payment standards.
- Fund interventions that support and protect artists
Support organizations that play a critical role in enforcing labor laws and social protections for creatives. Connect artists to advocates, policy groups, and scholars working to realize 21st century labor policy at the federal, state, and local levels. Strengthen these response efforts through capacity building and strong strategic communications.
These artist-centred approaches, recommended at a time of extreme change for the arts sector and the workforce in general, recognize and celebrate the humanity of artists as cultural workers, as well as the value of their art. We envision a future where all artists have equal rights to labor protections, social protections are guaranteed, and artists can shape the policies and economic systems that impact their lives.
