This checklist by Sheena Etches and Nicholas Sharp covers many issues relevant to small-scale private and public art commissions, with questions to consider and further explanation of issues arising in the notes.
Since 2000 there has been an unprecedented surge in self-employment. According to the RSA, there has been a 40% increase in micro-businesses and one in seven of the workforce are now self-employed. I recently joined the UK’s freelancer community and […]
Here in the UK, as the Paying Artists campaign revealed in 2014, the majority of contemporary artists are barely surviving financially, with no or low pay the norm. In real terms, nearly three-quarters of artists are getting just 37% of […]
As artists find themselves at the end of the cultural food chain, Susan Jones suggests a new activism to reaffirm their status The so-called golden age of arts funding has given way to debilitating austerity, particularly for artists who find […]
Are traditional arts organisations the best vehicles for meaningful participation or should we be looking elsewhere? These are dangerous times for people and for our world of arts values. Uncertainty can cause us to be safe, edit complexity, be secretive, […]
Republishing a selection from my writing on the Guardian. Collectively, these texts raise issues and concerns about the visual arts infrastructure, arts policy and conditions for artists’ creativity.
Reports and commentary from the a-n resources, Research papers and editorial features that provide evidence about or discuss issues around artists’ employment and livelihoods. See also my separate bibliography of evidence on artists’ pay 1986-2016.
A purpose-built legal framework and ‘brand identity’ for social enterprises that want to adopt the limited company form, the Community Interest Company organisational structure has also proved popular in the arts and charity sectors.
This toolkit is an introduction to the contractual process, enabling artists to assess contracts and to build their own.
It’s been a while now since I finished “that job”. Time and space have given me a little perspective on it. Despite all the stressful circumstances that led up to me resigning, I now believe that the time was not […]
The whole self-employed thing is great, I love feeling so liberated, being able to decide what I do and when. However, after decades of employment and salary, however meagre, the lack of regular payment is hard going. Cash flow is […]
For the last year I have been working as a healthcare assistant at hospital, but due to a number of reasons I have become very unhappy working in that job, to the point that I was always miserable. So I quit my day job and am now on the journey back into self employment.
I have adopted an air of “Yes, I can do that!” Because I am now self employed person. I have also adopted an air of “No, I’m sorry, I don’t do that!” (Edited later to include “I’ve spent […]
We asked consultant and researcher Dany Louise to pick a selection of guides pertinent to creative freelance workers.
Most professional artists will occassionally need to seek legal advice about some aspect of their practice. This guide by Rebecca Farley signposts key sources of legal advice and information.
Fundraising is a competitive activity. This guide by Lisa Le Feuvre introduces the main funding sources and offers guidelines to help make winning funding applications.
This guide by Nicholas Sharp looks at the different types of legal structures that can be used when setting up an organisation, and the implications of each.
Video of the artists Ellie Harrison and Jordan McKenzie in conversation, with insights into surviving financially, alternative ways of doing things and using humour to engage people.
Ellie Harrison’s latest project ‘Work-a-thon for the Self-Employed’ will take place at Toynbee Studios, London on 13 June as part of the Two Degrees festival.
In the face of a new political era compounded by an unprecedented financial climate, the need to forecast our future living and working conditions is urgently felt.
A guide for artists and arts organisers to creating a mutually-beneficial relationship.
A selection of articles and other content dealing with artists’ income:
Responding to the gap in intelligence about artists and their practice, AIR: Artists’ Interaction and Representation has been conducting a series of research projects with the aim of informing cultural advocacy and policy-making.
The recent AIR survey that revealed that levels of self-employment were higher amongst artists than the creative industries as a whole also highlighted the high level of qualifications artists hold.
Last month, as part of gathering evidence to support future art and design courses and government job creation programmes, we asked AIR members to respond to a survey about their employment status. As a result, we now have firm statistics to take back to HE and Government.
