Results of an anonymous survey highlight disturbing figures on the wages and working conditions of British artists in the public sector. THE Structurally fucked grassroots advocacy group report Industry dives into 104 artists’ testimonials about commissions, exhibitions, performances, programs and other projects they’ve created for publicly funded institutions, all gathered between 2020 and 2022 in an 18-hour Google survey questions entitled “Artists Leaks”. The report found wide disparities in artists’ wages, ranging from hourly rates as low as nothing to £80 ($99).
Most survey responses were at the low end of this pay range, which translates to a median hourly rate of just £2.60 ($3.25). Additionally, the results revealed that an alarming number of artists had been forced to subsidize institutions with unpaid labor – 15% of respondents’ responses indicated that they had paid nothing at all for their work. Overall, 73% of survey respondents also responded that they felt they were not fairly compensated for their time and experience.
The report features anonymous testimonies from artists who describe this unpaid work as “embarrassing” and a struggle. In a response, one artist explained how the lack of pay made them feel ‘shamed’ and how it wasn’t until years later ‘talking to other artists’ that they learned this issue was more widespread.
Described as an “artist-to-artist solidarity project” aimed at “countering the very culture of silence and individualism that atomizes artists and sets them up for exploitation”, Industria’s project Structurally fucked report was originally commissioned by An artist information societyanother British artists’ organization with over 29,000 members.
THE Structurally fucked The survey takes into account a number of systemic issues plaguing the cultural sphere, such as the lack of government funding for the arts and an industry-wide minimum wage. It refers to the 2018 Arts Council England’s “Livelihoods of Visual Artistswhich revealed that in 2015 the average annual income artists generated from their artistic practice was £6,020 (~$7,461).
The report also highlights other research led by the Canada Council that demonstrates how the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated these issues for artists, leading to job losses, canceled work opportunities and illnesses.
“Arts Council England is committed to ensuring that those working in the cultural and creative sector are properly and fairly compensated,” an agency spokesperson said. Hyperallergic. The representative explained that supporting artists in the public sector is one of the main goals of the agency in the future. She pointed to the Arts Council let’s create A 10-year strategic plan which aims to “better support individuals in starting and pursuing careers in the creative industries”.
The ‘Artists Leaks’ investigation was originally carried out in 2020, when the Tate museums allegedly refused a Freedom of Information request submitted by members of Industria who inquired about compensation structures for artists at the ‘institution. In response to this alleged “lack of transparency from an institution with significant public funding”, Industria developed the survey to give artists an online space to openly share their experiences of compensation and work in institutions and publicly funded British arts programs.
The Tate has yet to respond to Hyperallergicrequest for comment.
Industria concludes its report with several calls to action to transform the public arts sector, including increased funding for public arts, budget transparency between public arts institutions, and a minimum wage requirement in the industry. The report also makes several recommendations for artists, such as unionizing and using job protection contracts.
