Sculpture by the Sea stoush exposes artists payment crisis
The rescue of Sculpture by the Sea by private donors has highlighted a cultural crisis: artists are expected to do things for free, in exchange for the elixir of profile and platform.
One little detail leapt out following the unedifying stoush between the federal government and organisers of the Sculpture by the Sea behemoth that’s now in several of our cities. The Sydney event had a $200,000 budget shortfall. The government wasn’t coming to the (rescue) party. So, would the annual wonder-trail on the headlands of Bondi vanish from our nation’s cultural map? Cue stalemate. Yet keeper of the purse, federal Arts Minister Tony Burke, wasn’t budging. Why?
One reason. He’d been advised that Sculpture by the Sea didn’t pay its artists. Ah, an arts minister championing the fulsome payment of impoverished creatives, how refreshing that seemed. “One of the principles we established in our cultural policy was that, for too long, artists have been expected to work for free as though their life’s work was a hobby and not a career,” Burke explained. “The last information I have received was to have your works included in Sculpture by the Sea you are not paid. In fact, you had to pay them.”
Over to founder David Handley, who said Burke was “seriously misinformed”. How much money does each sculptor see? Handley explained that all artists had to pay a $50 entry fee, then each successful sculptor got a minimum $3000 “safety net” income. Right. So with the cost of materials alone, as well as transportation and installation, $3000 wouldn’t go far. The event was costed, this year, at about $3 million to stage.
The good news: after publicity surrounding the unseemly standoff, corporate and private donors stepped in. The beloved event was saved. And Handley announced a portion of the new sponsorship would be directed to artists who “needed further assistance”. But the heated conflagration shone a light on the vexed issue of artists payments, a very good thing. Because too often Australian creatives aren’t paid very much, or expected to do things for free, in exchange for the elixir of profile and platform. Who can afford to be an artist anymore? And what does that mean for a diverse creative industry, drawing on a rich pool from all classes and ethnicities?
I’ve done a fair few Writer’s Festivals this year, and what always intrigues is the little guilt-inducing contract request, asking the writer to consider donating back their fee. Er, right. Like writers are the people rolling in it. Do the organisers bringing out the Be Kind card have any idea how much writers earn on average, and how much of a gruelling hustle their lives are? The pitiable fees at writer’s festivals amount to, on average, several hundred dollars per appearance. I tip my hat to the festivals, often smaller ones, who make it a point of pride to declare, “we pay our writers.” They demonstrate a real cherishing of artists. Yet some larger festivals, well, the gall. Because often the people asking to donate are living off comfortable wages themselves, with superannuation and leave entitlements; luxuries few artists see.
Kurt Vonnegut wrote a glorious call to arms for the creative soul: “Go into the arts. I’m not kidding. The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practising an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake … Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something.” What artists produce make our souls grow, yet they also need to survive financially or they’ll stop creating the wonder. So for any organisation considering using creative talent to attract business, please, pay the artists. I’m glad the powers that be at Sculpture by the Sea saw the light on this one. For if the artists are left out of pocket, does the event have the right to go ahead in the future?
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