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This article is about the recent study conducted Creative Australia and Macquarie University entitled "Artists a Workers: An economic study of professional artists in Australia" released on Tuesday 7th May 2024. It helps to answer the question can an artist make enough dough to to live off in Australia? Answer is more complex than we think.
This report marks the latest installment in a significant series of studies conducted over the past four decades by Professor David Throsby and his team at Macquarie University. These studies have consistently examined the working conditions of artists, offering valuable insights into various aspects of their professional lives, including artistic practices, income levels, career progression, and overall work experiences.
I invite you to join me n his article as we delve into the key findings of this research, shedding light on the realities faced by artists in Australia and exploring the implications for the broader artistic community. This study also sheds light on various challenges and opportunities encountered by professional artists in the country.
Artists are the main producers of art in this country but we didn't know how they work and what's their income. This study does help shed light on this. Over 400 artists have participated with a deep study of their financial data and other aspects of their professional careers.
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Comments from Release Event
I also had a chance to attend the release session on 7th with Katya Petetskaya, David Throsby and Georgie McClean. David said that more and more artists have to freelance and diversify eg: casualisation - they are hard hit. That wasn't used to be the case. Maybe policy needs to change to help artists.
Katya said that the survey focused on the unpaid labour n the arts, arts related and non arts related and also COVID incident and indigenous arts. This was compared to trans data like artists population etc. Interesting result in this survey she says that we are losing artists post COVID. Why? David says that it's precariousness of the profession, artists are committed but society as a whole doesn't view art as important - he says it's a series of causes hard to pin down but number of increasing expenses plus low incomes.
Interesting observation from the statistic is that those that identify as male is only 35% the question is why? According to David there is no answer why. Pay gap is diminishing as a possible cause. Also according to Katya the possible causes it's that female artists are less likely to report being an artist eg: casual.
Comments from researchers say that artists with a disability are increasing. Experiencing a disability and being an artist is an issue to support themselves as well as knowing how to manage an art business. Is greater support in setting up and running an art business is needed for artists with a disability? According to the study, some artists with a disability manage fine and some struggle. It really depends on the disability and the circumstances.
The Key Findings of the study
It delves into several crucial questions:
How do artists balance their artistic pursuits with other commitments, constraints, or the necessity to earn a livelihood?
What is the representation of the artistic workforce in relation to the broader Australian society, and what obstacles do different groups face?
In what ways do artists' skills, capabilities, and work methods align with the evolving nature of employment?
How do societal and technological advancements influence Australian artists and their creative endeavors?
What measures can be implemented to support, safeguard, and fairly compensate professional artists in the future?
The report examines these inquiries in detail. It juxtaposes key survey findings with relevant literature and analysis to underscore emerging patterns and to deliberate on their implications for Australian artists moving forward.
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Main insights about Artists in Australia
The artistic workforce hasn't grown as quickly as the general labor force, suggesting obstacles to creative work. Despite their valued contributions, artists struggle to maintain sustainable careers, earn income from their work, and protect their intellectual property.
Artists frequently struggle to support themselves through their creative work. Despite some stable roles, many face irregular work, low pay, and long hours. On average, they earn 26% less than professionals in other fields, with half making under $10,000 annually. Most work as freelancers, often balancing non-arts jobs to make ends meet. Rising casualization has led to higher artist unemployment rates. Rising living costs prompt more artists to invest in insurance, yet many remain uncertain about their financial futures.
My observations in the arts community on this point: financial difficulties of artists and how to help, one idea from me: I also think artists associations are struggling because artists are struggling but they bring in a lot of community exhibition opportunities and should be supported financially. For example, I sat on a Sculptors Victoria meeting on 8th May 2024 and all saw grey hair artists at the end of their careers talking about struggling to pay for membership and trying to find affordable exhibition spaces that won't put up association member fees. I think if all state and national art associations were well supported by the government in each state and federal they would bring in more younger artists to the association and bring value for money to the artists and lift up the whole art space. Often associations have to have a ballot which only selects a handful of artists each time, but it'd be great to have multiple exhibitions all over the place that they could fund that members could be exhibited in. Just an observation. And the associations would have extra funding to be able to provide supports such as marketing support sessions funded through the government for artists and all sorts of other extra supports that they currently can't have. Also each state or country wide art association should be given funding to acquire a permanent exhibition or meeting space so they can support their members with a permanent presence because exhibition space is too expensive now.
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Australian artists' demographics are evolving, yet disparities persist. The artistic workforce now mirrors the nation's diverse cultural and linguistic makeup, with more women, people with disabilities, multilingual artists, and regional-based creators. Despite this, challenges in creative practice and income disparities remain. Women artists earn 19% less than men on average, exceeding the 12% gender pay gap in the broader workforce in 2023.
Artists show resilience and adaptability but lack confidence in certain business areas (especially I think artists with a mental disability). They navigate changing work environments adeptly, leveraging technology and innovation. Despite financial challenges, they continuously develop their skills. However, many manage their business independently, lacking access to support services. Targeted training is needed to enhance their business acumen.
Technological advancements are reshaping the artistic landscape, influencing both the creation process and how artists connect with audiences. As digital technologies integrate into daily life, some artists are leveraging these tools to create, market, and engage with new audiences. While optimistic about the potential benefits, artists also face challenges in adapting to the digital realm and promoting their work online.
Technological advancements pose challenges for artists' Intellectual Property (IP) protection. With digital platforms and emerging tech like AI, ensuring fair compensation becomes complex. Artists struggle to control their work online, facing uncertainty about legal protections. Traditional IP models are threatened in the digital era, raising concerns about fair compensation for artists.
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Key data discovered
I'll mention the key data from this study and share my observations below each of them.
(1) Artist numbers declined slightly, standing at 47,100, not keeping pace with overall labor market growth.
My observations: Being an artists is a dying art as it were with AI and economic pressures biting at the heels of every artists out there.
(2) Occupations like actors/directors and dancers/choreographers increased, while musicians decreased.
My observations: This is a concern for the music industry in Australia. Without music life would be boring.
(3) Women dominate in most artistic fields but earn 19% less than men.
My observations: It's un-denying in terms of what I suspected and now we can see the data that men are not joining the artistic profession and are also leaving - why? One thing I noticed is men under 40 don't seem to be that interested in Art in general and I haven't seen many art viewers that are young male. As a male artists I'm very concerned about that and my prospects may be very bleak. Interestingly there are more male musicians and composers than female but in any other arts discipline its may more women. This is why I have no hope as a male artist. There are is also the trend after 2016 towards toxic feminism teaching that men are not valuable part of society and only women are. Perhaps that has driven some men to switch off from even creating. As regards the gender pay gap - thats wrong and should be equalised.
Sexes breakdown over time:
Here is a sexes breakdown of subgroups:
(4) The artist population is older, with more aged 55 and over, though representation decreased in 2023.
My observations: This is an indication of the creative industry dying and disappearing as younger people aren't choosing art as a professions because as the study shows you will have a life or mainly poverty if you try to live off art as an artist - at least in some of the disciplines in art. In fact only between 21-35% of all creatives are under 35 - that's very concerning for the fading future of art making in Australia.
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(5) More artists from non-English speaking backgrounds and with disabilities face barriers. Some have moved from cities to regions, impacting their practice.
My observations: As an immigrant in Poland and someone with a disability I can definitely vouch for this as it's very hard to enter the market and navigate everything. Its just too complex. Comparing 2016 and 2023 in terms of disability: In 2016 only 9% were with a disability and last year 16% were with a disability - so either artists are coming out with it and stigma is disappearing or there was an increase in disabilities post COVID? Also between 2002 and 2023 Non-english speaking artists increased from 8% to 13% - not much but its encouraging that they are trying.
Next steps according to Creative Australia
Creative Australia acknowledges the pivotal role artists play in shaping our arts, culture, and creative industries. Artists drive innovation, experimentation, and connections, enriching our society and economy.
"Artists as Workers" provides invaluable insights into artists' working conditions, highlighting both opportunities and challenges. As part of their commitment to supporting artists at every stage of their careers, Creative Australia says they will leverage investments, development initiatives, and advocacy efforts.
Under their Revive cultural policy, which brings together public, philanthropic, and commercial interests, they will address emerging issues impacting creative work.
Additionally, they said that they will continue to conduct research and analysis to understand and meet the evolving needs of Australian artists. This includes updating studies on diversity in the arts sector and developing strategies to support First Nations artists as directed under Revive.
The future of creative work in Australia
In today's creative economy, original ideas drive innovation, prosperity, and national wellbeing. However, technological disruptions and economic pressures are reshaping traditional business models for creative work.
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Rising living costs are squeezing artists' budgets, impacting training, studio expenses, and insurance costs. Protecting intellectual property (IP) is crucial for artists' economic survival, yet it's increasingly challenging to control artworks in the digital age.
Technology offers both opportunities and challenges, with digital platforms transforming how art is discovered and consumed. As digital spaces become more algorithm-driven, artists face the dual challenge of experimentation and ensuring their work's visibility amidst changing norms of access and sharing.
One such example is the skewered nature of social media visibility for a male visual artist: I post identical portrait short video on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, X and Facebook - result: Only TikTok and YouTube generate thousands of views while Facebook and Instagram a few hundred and X a handful of views. Such examples how difficult it is for artists to promote will keep squeezing out artists out of the profession in the future.
The other issue is cost of living - more and more businesses can't afford to rent their premises or even for artists to find a home that's affordable. So this in turn makes it hard to sustain making art at low income levels.
So what will the future hold for artists in Australia? It will be unaffordable to be an artist without the support of the of Australian governments on all levels. Which countries support of the arts the most? Nordic countries, Canada, France, Germany and Australia. But if Australia doesn't step up to the decline in the arts we will drop of as one of the most artist supported countries in the world.
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Particularly in the space of access to higher arts education for low income earners, mental health disability access to arts and indigenous access to arts will need to be tackled more deeply to give everyone an equal chance. Its very difficult particularly for these cohorts to make art. And supporting art association financially so that their members can better benefit and help them with marketing funding to attract more members.
Also the problem of Pay to Play gallery model is pushing visual artists out of the professions as its unaffordable and exhibiting is so important for a visual artists career.
Then you have AI that is further pushing out artists as customers can just get custom visual artworks, images and videos created by AI generator apps is skipping human artists, graphic designers, and other creatives. This will further put pressure on artists in the future. And very soon humanoid robots will come in the art world and make sculptures and live performance art pieces, in fact I saw one already in the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra recently Jordan Wolfson’s ‘Body Sculpture’ which consisted of a realistic humanoid arts that conducted a art performance with captive audiences. And OpenAI Sora and others will destroy the filmmaking industry.
I dare not think that one day art will be a personal private matter without a professional arts industry. Imagine a world without artists of all kinds. Here is a foregleam of a dark future:
For example the Nazis tried to destroy all kinds of art. During the Nazi regime, there was a systematic effort to destroy art and books deemed contrary to Nazi ideology. Modernist and expressionist artworks, along with works by Jewish and politically opposed artists, were labeled as "degenerate" and removed from public collections. Books considered subversive were banned and publicly burned in book burnings. These actions were part of the regime's broader campaign to control cultural expression and promote their nationalist agenda, serving as a form of censorship and suppression of dissenting voices.
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Another example of a possible art future is in the movie 1984 based on the George Orwell book "1984". In the dystopian world of "1984," artistic expression is heavily suppressed by the authoritarian regime. The ruling Party, led by Big Brother, maintains strict control over all forms of creativity, viewing them as potential threats to its power. Artistic works are heavily censored, with only propaganda and state-approved messages permitted. The protagonist, Winston Smith, works for the Party's Ministry of Truth, where he helps rewrite history and manipulate language to serve the Party's agenda. This control over creative expression serves to further reinforce the regime's grip on power and perpetuate its totalitarian rule.
There is also the Success Paradox as outlined by Vertasium on YouTube. Where it shows success in a capitalist world involves a pyramid scheme where only a few get to the top. With all the hard work and all the education and everything you'll still not get to the top and 99% of people will just do average if not anything. And I think it applies to art the world as well because it's part of a capitalist system. So only a few people will get to the top and the rest of us will just scrape.
What do those dark future examples show us? That art must be protected, unencumbered by legal hurdles, valued and treated as precious and the makers of art should be likewise protected, valued and sustained. If we don't then the dark future may come very quickly when art disappears.
Happy creating...
Michal Plis
References
Creative Australia: Major report shows economic conditions for artists at odds with the value we place on the arts
Creative Australia publication: Artists as Workers: An economic study of professional artists in Australia (PDF Copy here)