At the ArtsHub Visions 2020 conference I will be interviewing surgeon and arts philanthropist Dr Terry Wu, and Shelagh Magadza, Executive Director of the Chamber of Arts and Culture WA, to plumb their impressive brains on this very topic.
In the meantime, I have put together some concrete examples of how to support the arts beyond the public purse.
Impact investment
As the NSW Office of Social Impact Investment puts it, ‘social impact investment seeks to generate social impact alongside financial return. The investment often brings together capital and expertise from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to achieve a social objective.’
The Creative Land Trust in London is a prime example. The Trust is securing artist workspaces through a combination of outright property purchases or long leases, and through planning policies – an example of value-capture in action. The funding comes from a blended capital model leveraging grant funding to attract impact investment at scale. Investment is structured as debt with a fixed rate of return to investors over an initial term.
Social enterprises
Social enterprises blend for-profit structures with traditionally non-profit missions. With rigorous and ethical governance models, these entities can be effective in achieving social and financial returns. I quite like the example of ‘Fairbnb,’ Venice’s answer to Airbnb. Fairbnb is a social enterprise which promotes an ethical sharing economy. Fairbnb invests 50% of its commission in community projects, which can include cultural development for local neighbourhoods.
Support for casual and contract-based arts workers
Even before COVID-19, two in five Australian artists did not earn enough to meet their basic income requirements (42%), according to Dthrosby and K Petetskaya in Making Art Work and based on ABS Average Weekly Earnings Data. Despite the constant juggle to make ends meet, artists earned 41% less than the national average full-time wage ($48,400 p.a. compared to $81,900 in 2016). Their income was already more precarious than most: artists were twice as likely to work as freelancers/self-employed than the general labour force (76% compared to 33% in 2016).
How about an industry scheme which can offer HR support for arts workers such as insurance, carer’s leave, sick leave and long service leave? There are precedents, including:
- On Monday 23 November, the Victorian Government announced a pilot program offering sick and carer’s leave to casual and insecure workers.
- Schemes already exist to support portable long service leave schemes for the building and construction industry, the community services industry, and the contract cleaning and security industries. This means that workers can take their long service entitlement with them if they change jobs but are still in the same industry.
- Duck for Cover is a non-profit association providing low-cost public liability insurance for performers.
A local basic income for artists
The impending rise of industrial automation has led billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk to suggest a universal basic income for all workers. How about a living wage for artists as a starting point?
Local government areas may be important test sites for an artist living wage. For example, San Francisco has introduced a basic income program for 130 artists who will receive $1,000 per month for six months. The program is considered a pilot of a living wage for city artists , with the local council recognising the need to support artists to continue to live and work in San Francisco and contribute to the city’s recovery.
London’s South Bank Business Improvement District aims to use the power of peer pressure to ensure a living wage for cultural workers. The business group, in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation, assesses the value to South Bank employers of paying the London Living Wage and becoming accredited. They found that 75% of consumers would be prepared to pay more for the same product or service from a company that ensures its staff earn a wage they can live on. Lambeth Council campaigns for businesses in the district to support the Living Wage and now has 145+ businesses signed up.
A collective arts industry fund
I dream of the day that artists join together for an arts industry fund which provides a living wage to artists, particularly those of us of marginalised identities and from non-privileged backgrounds. The fund could be resourced by a mix of revenues including a digital tax, gambling revenue, impact investment returns, direct member contributions, arts companies, government and philanthropy. The method for delivering wages to artists who need it could take the form of many of the other options listed above. A collective arts fund would provide equitable, easy to access, basic income so that artists can focus on making art.
You can watch Dr Jackie Bailey, Shelagh Magadza and Dr Terry Wu dissect innovative funding solutions at ArtsHub’s Visions 2020 conference. Early Bird tickets are available until midnight tonight, and tickets are free for members.
