The Social, Economic & Fiscal Status of Visual Artists in Ireland

17 July 2009

1) INTRODUCTION

Visual artists in Ireland today are thriving in terms of creative output. However, these visual artists also represent some of the lowest paid members of society. They undertake their career as a visual artist against all odds – and at times feel alienated from a society that gains its cultural identity from their life’s work. Many visual artists live on the breadline; and in the current climate, some might feel their occupation is threatened or under attack – yet they continue to succeed to make work.

Rather than try to merely prove these statements emotively, Visual Artists Ireland carried out a survey in December 2008 entitled ‘The Social, Economic and Fiscal Status of Visual Artists in Ireland’. Drawing upon our membership as a true representation of the sector, Visual Artists Ireland asked a number of volunteers to answer a series of standard questions in order to provide a true and accurate picture of life as a visual artist in Ireland today.

We have chosen not to make any detailed analysis of the data collected. Instead, in the survey document we show the information gathered which we feel speaks for itself.

2) KEY FINDINGS

Visual artists represent a highly educated part of the community. Self-taught artists are the exception, with most art graduates progressing to MA and post-doctorate studies. Following graduation and to maintain their ongoing career development, 57% continue with some form of further education and/or professional development workshops. 49% of this further education is delivered by Visual Artists Ireland. We also provide professional development contact hours in colleges around the country so that art students can understand the realities of life as an artist following graduation.

Within the education system, the curriculum that is delivered does not include or demand knowledge of areas outside of the arts. For this reason, although highly educated and skilled, some are ill equipped for the reality of life. This reality shows that artists need to have two or three other jobs to support their families and their art practice. They take part-time positions in education, community work, volunteering, or jobs within the hospitality industry. These offer them the flexible working hours that may allow them to also spend time within their art practice. The main reason that artists give for not having enough time to spend in their art practice is insufficient income from art making. This is not necessarily a reflection of lack of quality, but it indicates the limits of places for artists to show their work, and the small size of the art collecting population.

Artists who do exhibit are not necessarily paid. There are no set guidelines on this matter and therefore even publically funded institutions may not pay an artist’s fee for exhibition. This is usually due to a lack of sufficient funding or a lack of understanding of the life of an artist.

Other statistics that show visual artists at the lowest income level of society are:

- 67% of artists earn less than €10,000 per annum from their creative work

- 24% earn between €10,000 and €25,000 per annum

Taking this that this creative income must be supported by other forms of income such as part / full time work, grants etc.

- 33% of artists earn less than €10,000 per annum from all of their sources of income

- 34% earn between €10,000 and €25,000

These figures are from a period of economic growth and certainty, and even during this time 24% of artists have been in arrears in the past year. And yet, considering these high figures, only 30% of artists have signed on in the past five years.

These figures will show that it is in the early years of career that artists most rely on social welfare:

Age 25 – 34 = 15%

Age 35 – 44 = 10%

Age 45 – 54 = 4%

Age 64+ = 1%

For this reason it is obvious that some form of state support is required for early career artists.

As artists must be self-employed for the tax exemptions scheme, and yet some may still have PAYE jobs (61% self-employed, 62% PAYE, 83% registered as both), we have found anomalies in how artists are treated by social welfare. This means that 42% of artists who have applied for social welfare (47% means tested, 36% PRSI) have had problems. 33% have been told to retrain, 22% have been threatened with a removal of benefits, and 12% have found variations between social welfare personnel. This is a direct comment from one of our correspondents: ‘I was given a tip never to even mention art, which is what I did, and so far no probs. Self-employed people suffer the same fate… so much better in current climate to state that one is out of work since last job, waitressing, teaching etc.’
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3) IMPORTANT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It would be unfair for us not to acknowledge the work of the Arts Council of Ireland, the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, Culture Ireland, the British Council, and local arts offices in their support of the visual arts. But their limited funding can go only so far as the call on their resources becomes more and more stretched, and their funding becomes more reduced. The following table shows applications for sources of funding available to artists.

The Arts Council – 22%

Local Authority Funding – 16%

No sources of funding available – 10%

Per Cent for Art Commissions – 10%

Culture Ireland – 8%

The Arts Council Northern Ireland – 7%

Other Government Departmental Funding – 6%

Funding from Private Enterprise – 4%

EU Funding – 3%

Funding from Private Sector – 3%

Private Individuals – 3%

Non Governmental Organisations – 2%

UK Lottery – 1%

Non-EU Funding – 0%

As the above table indicates the primary funders for the members surveyed are The Arts Council and local authorities, with percent for art and Culture Ireland coming very close to the top. It is therefore clear that the provision of funds to these organisations / schemes ensures that the individual artist is given the wherewithal to work, and to contribute to the creative economy.

4) TIME FACTORS

The most significant influence on when artists choose to work has consistently related to their home life. Family commitments, household duties and in particular the issue of childcare, impacts greatly upon the time available to artists in which to work. Artists often find it necessary to wait until they have time and space to themselves. For example, when children are at school or a spouse is at work.

Another significant factor in choosing a time to work in their area of practice is the need to arrange their time around other work commitments. Many artists find it necessary to supplement their income with another job, most commonly; teaching. Therefore, these artists generally work when they return home from their “day job” or on days off.

A lot of artists rely on daylight in which to work, so this is also a contributing factor in selecting a time. As well as this, artists reported that the need to meet deadlines was also a major influence. Many people also stated that the energy and compulsion they felt for the work was also a contributing factor, while others felt that routine hours and structure suited them better.
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5) SOCIAL WELFARE

Most people suggested that some form of financial support would be welcomed from Social Welfare. In particular, it was proposed that developing artists may require a start-up loan or a subsistence to be made available to them subject to certain conditions.

Other ideas included:

- an integrated health and pension scheme for artists

- an artist-focussed self employment scheme

- a tax exemption to specific to forms of visual art

Artists also took issue with their status as viewed by Social Welfare. It was suggested that Social Welfare Officials fail to recognise that being a professional artist is a legitimate and viable career. It should be accepted as a trade and that therefore these candidates are not available for other work. Artists would like Social Welfare to realise that they contribute significantly to local, regional, national and international living culture. Many artists partake in voluntary work and this should possibly be taken into account. Because of this there needs to be more information and training available to staff in the Social Welfare as to the role an artist plays in society.

Artists would like to see Social Welfare Officers supplied with specific guidelines on how to deal with artists. Training for Officers should include information on how an artist’s practice works in order to enable them to offer constructive advice where needed, particularly in areas such as grant breakdowns. It was suggested that Social Welfare could request to see current work in progress to understand better what an artist does. On applying for social welfare benefit, officials could ask to be shown accounts to demonstrate that what happens to an artist’s income, as it may often go straight back into the Visual Art Practice and thus does not sustain the artist but funds the work produced.

Consultation with artists was also suggested in order to improve the relationship. For example, Social Welfare Officials could ask each claiming artist what would facilitate them in gaining financial independence. They could also make practical training available to accompany current skills on a part-time basis, thus allowing the artist to remain working on their practice part-time but also gain new practical skills for employment part-time in areas such as teaching, or web design, etc.

It is felt that there is very little understanding of people who don’t work within the usual 9am to 5pm structure. This shows great inflexibility within the system and this makes it less accessible for artists.

6) STATUS OF THE INDIVIDUAL WITHIN SOCIETY

Some of the international standard questions used to show the status of the individual within society may also prove of interest:

- 72% have no private pension

- 45% have no private health insurance

- 48% are the primary earner of their household

- 83% could not work as an artist without the added income of their partner

- 40% of artists did not take holidays in the past year

- 62% couldn’t afford to

And yet when asked, 83% stated that given the choice all over again they would still choose to be an artist.

It is therefore imperative that Irish society takes an integrated and strategic view where the visual arts are concerned. Visual artists contribute to the cultural identity of our nation, and also address the morale of the population. And yet, public opinion about this contribution is regularly directed by popular media that that visual artists are high earners and spongers off state systems. This needs to be quashed; especially in the light of the realities of the research that is published within this document. Artists work at many levels, fields and contexts – for example in the areas of community, health, children, disability, environment, to name but a few. Often this work is in the form of volunteering. All of which goes unrecognised by the State. The continued support of the tax exemption, percent for art and the funding of the Arts Council and local authorities are vital but are only part of a larger picture that needs to be addressed.

Government needs to take a very strategic and integrated approach to how we can build a society in which the visual arts are supported. For this reason we need to look to education at its most early stages, support systems that need to be overhauled so as to recognise careers that some economists may see as an ‘irrational pursuit’, and put concrete action into ensuring that the visual arts becomes central rather than an inconvenient line item on an economist’s agenda. Only in this way can we truly say that we are a nation that places culture high on its lists of priority, and ensure that we can maintain free access to the arts such as we enjoy today.
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7) CHALLENGES

Financial survival was consistently the biggest challenge reported by artists. Earning a regular income and trying to make a living from creative practice is a major difficulty for a large number of people. The majority of those who took part in the survey found that they had to continuously source outside work to supplement their income. Because of these difficulties, they also were often unable to contribute to a pension fund, or a mortgage, or other general expenses of that kind. Not knowing from one year to the next where income will come from is a concern. Artists who do take on outside work often struggle to strike a balance between both finding time and energy for their art practice and their other job.

Another of the main challenges met by visual artists involves promoting the work and the artists themselves. Building up a reputation is a key factor in getting sale for the work, however many artists encounter problems in trying to find gallery space and lining up exhibitions. The commercial gallery scene is perceived as difficult and inaccessible, particularly for artists starting out. However, exposure of the work and the artist keeping a visual public appearance is vital to achieving sales.

An additional difficulty faced by artists is finding the time to pursue their own practice, it largely not being financially rewarding. Time management, discipline and the opportunity to develop as an artist becomes very difficult where outside work is necessary to supplement an income. A number of artists find that having to manage the business and administration side of being an artist is also time consuming and takes away from time which could be spent creating. Issues such as dealing with tax, keeping records, applying for grants and speaking with galleries can be a significant demand on an artist’s time and therefore constitutes a challenge in the creative process.

Inspiration, motivation and deadlines are additional difficulties met by artists.

COMMENTS

The most common concern among visual artists is the inability to earn enough to live on through work as an artist alone. It is often necessary for them to supplement their income in another way. A large proportion of them find either part-time or full-time work in both related and unrelated fields. A smaller number of responders stated that they would not be able to survive as a practicing artist without the financial support of their partner.

While some artists hold the belief that to become dependent on their art for money could change the art in a negative way and that it is healthy for artists to have jobs outside the arts or at least outside their own sphere, the majority found that outside work mostly had a negative impact on their artwork. An outside job can drain an artist of their creative energy and leave them with insufficient time to develop their own work.

Common complaints were that current artists’ fees for exhibitions and commissions are insufficient, while at the same time the outlets for their work charge a disproportionate commission. In reality, the artists get paid for a fraction of the hours actually worked. For example, time spent installing the piece is often unpaid. Artists agree that it is very difficult to make a living being an artist but they still make art as they believe it is important to do so.

With regard to an artist’s social status, it was stated that in Ireland being an artist is still viewed as a past-time rather than a career. Many people also feel that it is a lonely and isolated occupation, and that they are generally unsupported and undervalued in society. Where some artists do find respect within their local community, they however do not find the same when dealing with Financial Institutions or the Social Welfare.

9) HEADINGS OF GRAPHS & TABLES

Headings of Graphs & Tables within the report include:

- Education & Training

- Work

- Unemployment and Social Welfare

- Funding and Other Sources of Financial Support

- Standard of Living

- Personal Profile

Other topics include:

- Finding time to work

- Social Welfare Suggestions

- Challenges to being a visual artist in Ireland

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