Exhibition payment guide launched for the arts sector

    New guidelines for paying artists exhibition fees have been published following a two year campaign led by a-n and AIR, funded by Arts Council England, Creative Scotland and Arts Council Wales.

    Ensuring artists are paid for their contribution to exhibitions

    a-n and AIR’s Exhibition Payment Guide responds to research which found that 71% of artists have not been receiving payment for exhibiting at publicly-funded galleries in the UK.
     
    Produced in consultation with Arts Council England, Creative Scotland and Arts Council of Wales, the guide outlines suggested fees for artists ranging from £150 to £6,000. The fess recognise the value of artists’ contributions, as well as their role in generating £2.3 billion from exhibitions for the UK economy each year.
     
    The guide covers a range of scenarios and provides guidance for galleries and artists, including how to enter a conversation about payment and how to negotiate fees.
     

    Download the guide here

     

    Find out more

    DACS was delighted to be involved as campaign partner. With over 30 years’ experience collecting and distributing royalties to visual artists and campaigning to protect their rights, the remuneration of artists is at the heart of what we do.

    Our Board Director and member, artist Jane Wilson, spoke at the launch of the guide on 12 October 2016. Noting decreases in public funding and paid opportunities for artists in contrast to the growth of the art market, she said:
     
    “All the more reason to have such a timely publication and one that sets out a guide for paying artists and one that does so with such clarity – it’s certainly something which should be built into curatorial courses so young curators get to see this as a handbook and a guide to how they operate.”

    Related links:

    Learn more about the Paying Artists campaign

    Our latest research into artists' salaries

    Our responses to consultations about copyright and the Artist's Resale Right

     

    Image: Photo from the Paying Artists Exhibition Payment Guide launch © DACS, 2016.

    Posted on 07/11/2016 by Laura Ward-Ure