‘SUPPORT ARTISTS AS INDIVIDUALS’: NEW REPORT

It is vital for Australia to offer strong support for artists as individuals, as well as for large artistic institutions, Professor Stuart Cunningham, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation at the Queensland University of Technology said today.

Professor Cunningham was commenting on the Centre’s latest research for the Australia Council for the Arts which finds that Australia’s artists are overwhelmingly sole traders or self-employed – at a level five times that of the workforce at large.
“This means that not only are most artists doing all they can to support themselves in their work – but it strengthens the case for the community to help them do so, if individual artistic creativity and excellence is to flourish in this country,” he says.

The research was based on analysis of the last three Australian censuses and was a key component in today’s announcement by the Australia Council that our artists continue to struggle financially, earning a median income of just $35,900 a year – including arts and non-arts income. Sixteen percent of artists earn less than $10,000 and only five percent earn more than $100,000.

“Our research took in the changing situation of artists over the last three censuses, which demonstrate the highly flexible nature of arts work,” Prof. Cunningham says.

“Sole practitioners make up over 50 percent of employment in artist occupations. This is five times the rate of the Australian workforce as a whole, in which only 10 percent are not employees. The arts also have a much higher percentage of workers in part-time employment (44 percent) compared to the workforce as a whole (32 percent).

“The performing arts have a particularly high percentage in part-time employment, typified by instrumental musicians, where 69 percent of people reported their employment basis as part-time.

“This provides clear evidence of the need for Australia to balance support for individual artists relative to large arts organisations – evidence which, I am pleased to say, is being acted upon by the Australia Council. It has also been taken up in the Labor Party’s arts policy for this week’s election.”

His research is one of two investigations into the working lives of Australia’s artists released by the Australia Council today in a report entitled Artist Careers. The other project was carried out by Professor David Throsby from Macquarie University.

Australia Council CEO, Kathy Keele says “Australian artists are not sitting around expecting to be paid; instead they’re putting their creativity and education to good use by working in industries outside their own, and making a significant contribution to the economy.”

Artists are also making a vital contribution to other parts of the economy, through the work they do in those sectors as they try to support their artistic careers, Prof. Cunningham adds.

“This is an aspect of creative employment which is often neglected or misunderstood: the artists are using their talents outside the arts industries themselves. For example, we found that 12,370 artists had jobs in other sectors compared with 11,550 who only worked in the arts sector. Furthermore, there are almost twice as many people working in arts related occupations (38,750), primarily design occupations, in other industries than there are in the arts sector (22,320).

“It is important for Australia to understand that artists’ skills and talents are increasingly needed and used in a great many other walks of life – and when we support our artists, we also support their other contributions indirectly.”

Prof. Cunningham said it was pleasing to note that the ALP had pledged increased support for individual artists in its election policy and it was to be hoped the Coalition and other parties would do likewise.

The ARC Centre for Excellence for Creative Industries and Innovation (CCI) is helping to build a creative Australia through cutting edge research spanning the creative industries, media and communications, arts, cultural studies, law, information technology, education and business. It is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC).

More information:
Professor Stuart Cunningham, Director CCI, ph 0407 195 304 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              0407 195 304      end_of_the_skype_highlighting,
s.cunningham@qut.edu.au
Rebekah McClure, Manager CCI, ph +61 7 3138 3889
Julian Cribb, CCI media, 0418 639 245

http://www.cci.edu.au