The precarious nature of visual arts work has been grabbing headlines recently. CVAN is a founding member of FRANK, a new alliance initiated by curator and writer, Fatoş Üstek and artists, Anne Hardy and Lindsay Seers. FRANK is calling for fairer working conditions so that artists from all socio-economic backgrounds are able to take their rightful place within the art world.
The Centre for Cultural Value recently reported that the pandemic held a mirror up to a “deeply unequal cultural sector”. Their report, Culture in Crisis drew attention to inequalities across the sector, with younger people, women and workers from global ethnic majorities among the hardest hit. Research commissioned by CVAN found that the average loss of income for a visual arts worker during the COVID-19 pandemic was just over £7,000. Dr Susan Jones has been looking at lessons that can be learned from the pandemic, pointing out how new funding models introduced in response to the crisis have given some artists greater freedom to reflect and revitalise their art practice.
In addition to working with FRANK, CVAN is working with other partners to draw attention to the issue of artists’ livelihoods and is taking every opportunity to raise this issue with policy makers.
Related campaigns and resources
The Paying Artists Campaign was launched in 2014 by a-n, the Artists Information Company in response to the needs of artists who exhibit in publicly-funded galleries.
The Artists Union England launched the Good Practice Charter to hold to account institutions working with artists.
CVAN also supports campaigns which champion freelancers working across various art forms such as music. Pay The Creator campaign challenges the status quo and offers guidance for artists when signing contracts.