The average income of an artist is approximately £15,000 per annum. The average loss of income for a visual arts worker during the COVID-19 pandemic was just over £7,000. 

In 2021, CVAN, working with other UK-based visual arts sector organisations and professional bodies, commissioned a comprehensive UK-wide study to look at the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on the sector. This was the second such report. The first, in May 2020, acted quickly to understand the position of the workforce dependent on the freelance gig economy at the outset of the pandemic. 

This second report, Impact of the Pandemic on the Livelihood of Visual Arts Workers, was published in September 2021 and evidenced the current situation of the visual arts workforce. It also investigated the sector’s response to emergency support measures announced by Arts Council England and HM Treasury.  

It included responses from a range of individuals that work in the sector – from artists and makers, technicians and fabricators, and from curators to consultants. 

The report’s findings aim to outline how best to deploy the capacity and resources of sector support organisations over the challenging time ahead. The results will also act as an evidence base to advocate for those artists and arts professionals who find themselves in a position of hardship over the coming months.

You can read a recent summary or a full report.

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At the heart of the economic growth of arts and culture are artists who work independently and have a professional practice. It is these artists who need vital financial support over the next phase of the recovery.
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Summary of COVID-19 impact on work and incomes

  • 41% reported a loss of contracted work because of the pandemic and related lockdown 
  • 48% said that the pandemic had an impact on their ability to get future contracts and commissions 
  • 70% indicated that their income had been reduced because of the pandemic 
  • 34% stated that they had lost more than £10,000 in revenue because of the pandemic 
  • 48% indicated that the pandemic had affected their international connections and opportunities
  • A third of respondents pointed to a loss of work, income, or opportunities; mental health struggles were also frequently mentioned. 

On a positive note… 

  • Many positive and unexpected impacts were noted, for example increased engagement with digital and online connectivity
  • In 2021, 66% said the level of satisfaction for support measures made available by the government had increased by 12% 
  • 7% of visual arts workers were able to increase their income over the pandemic. Much of this has been attributed to innovation, access to technology, new markets or pivoting their role or practice in some way in response to opportunities offered by the pandemic.

CVAN is supporting the following action strategy

  1. Arts Council England’s emergency support is welcomed, but additional and continued funding is crucial throughout the pandemic and long term recovery process. The Visual Arts Alliance, a body of sector support organisations, calls for dedicated funding for artists and independent art workers as part of the Culture Recovery Programme.  
  2. Independent practitioners, especially disabled and neurodivergent artists and Black and People of Colour artists, face significant loss of livelihood following the pandemic and are most vulnerable to employment precariousness; these groups should be at the forefront of recovery plans. 
  3. The expansion of freelance ‘gig’ economies has put countless individuals working in the visual arts at high risk of financial hardship. Unless systemic changes are made to ensure a more resilient response to emergency scenarios, many more will be forced to leave the sector. 

The arts and culture sector contributes £2.8 billion a year to the Treasury via taxation. It provides 363,700 jobs. CVAN will work to ensure that policy and decision-makers consider the real needs of our sector and see the far-reaching impact the visual arts have in our communities and their contribution to our economy. 

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We call for accessible and specific investment for artists, independent art workers, and individuals to be placed at the heart of the recovery in this country. Art is essential but only possible if we put artists at the centre and treat them as assets.
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The study was delivered by Earthen Lamp and funded by CVAN Contemporary Visual Arts Network England, Artquest, Red Eye –The Photography Network, and Visual Arts Group Wales. Further in-kind support from a-n, The Artist Information Company and DACS Design and Artists Copyright Society; distributed by the Visual Arts Alliance of sector support organisations.