Why are Artists so Hopeless when it comes to earning a living from their Art?

Well we are aren’t we? We seem to be incapable of making a living for ourselves from our work. The most recent survey from Visual Artists Ireland conducted in 2008 states that:

• 67% of artists in Ireland earn less than €10,000 per annum from their creative work

• 24% earn between €10,000 and €25,000 per annum.

So, about 90% of Irish artists earn less than €25k a year from their creative work? What other “professional” can say that, after spending 3 or 4 years studying their craft in the best colleges this country can provide? Irish artists are clearly not very good when it comes to developing successful businesses from their art. (And like it or not, if you are a self-employed artist then you are running a business). I‘m sure there are exceptions but the figures tell a pretty bleak story. These are Irish statistics and figures but I’ve a feeling they could be echoed in many other countries.

Is it that the art is no good? Maybe the type of art being produced is not very marketable? Or maybe it’s only certain types of artists that can make a living from their work. It’s probably harder for a performance artist to generate a steady income from their work than a traditional landscape painter. Someone who takes 9 months to produce a piece of work might find it more difficult to provide an annual salary for themselves than someone who can produce 50 pieces of work in the same timeframe. A sculptor who makes life sized bronze heads may find it easier to find a buyer for their work than an artist who makes 30 second video installations...There are as many different types of artists as there are types of art, each with their own unique challenges when it comes to making a living from their work.

Although I can find no figures as to the numbers of artists who make different types of art in Ireland I think it’s safe to assume that the majority of people that call themselves visual artists still make paintings, prints or images of some form. Certainly the majority of work sold in the marketplace is of this type (and art that is sold generates an income for the artist). So while it’s reasonable to assume that makers of challenging conceptual art or temporary installation pieces may find it harder to find willing buyers or collectors of their work can we not equally assume that the majority of artists (ie image makers) should have greater possibilities to find a market for their work?

But according to the Visual Artists Ireland report only about 10% of artists make more that €25k from their creative work. Is anyone really surprised at that figure? I wouldn’t think so, because it fits with the public perception of the poor artist, struggling to earn a living. And it fits nicely with some artists’ perception of themselves as special members of society that need to be supported, nurtured, funded. The belief being that artists, in general, should not have to deal with the pressures of having to fund themselves or their work. I have been told by one artist that artists have a right to be supported by society as they are providing such a unique public service– ie the creation of beautiful or challenging art for society to engage with or enjoy. I’ll leave that discussion for another day.

So how do artists make a living from their creative work? Where does our income come from? For simplicity, I define an artist that makes a living from their work as someone who derives the majority of their income (over 70%) directly from their work. And who may supplement this by offering specialist workshops or lecturing or taking part time work. As opposed to someone who derives most of their income from other employment, such as teaching, and generates supplemetal income from their art work.

Broadly speaking I would suggest there are 5 main sources of income:

1. Sales of work to private collectors (including commissions)
2. Sales of work to corporate collectors (including commissions)
3. Ancilliary specialist services or products – e.g. part-time teaching, workshops, lecturing, licensing, prints etc.
4. Sales of work to public collections
5. Public funding (e.g. bursaries, subsidies, commissions)

In my experience there seems to be a huge dependency on public funding in Ireland. If an artist can’t get funding or commissions from the monies allocated and administered through the Arts Council and county arts offices then it’s assumed they can’t make a living from their art. In Ireland over the past 25 years we have developed an amazing network of public galleries and art spaces, which have in turn made art much more accessible to the general public and have in their own way helped increase awareness in art and new Irish art in particular. But with it we seem to have created a culture of dependency for artists on the funding that is managed through this network. Yes, funding is an absolute necessity (and justified) for certain types of art that would never get made or shown otherwise but there are many other artists who could develop viable careers without to access state support, if only they were given the know how, the training to do so.

And unfortunately that culture of dependency is being nurtured and reinforced in our arts education system. A number of years ago I attended a 10 night Professional Development Programme for Visual Artists in one of the country’s main art colleges. We spent a lot of time writing artists statements, understanding how the public gallery system worked, how to apply for public commissions and public funding, writing more artist statements, understanding tax implications on public commissions and writing more artist statements. We spent about 1 hour discussing some of the commercial galleries in Ireland. We spent no time discussing how to effectively market our work to private collectors, to build our own client list, to create a strong online presence, to create a viable career for ourselves that didn’t depend on state funding.

If more artists are to learn how to earn a better living for themselves then it must start with what is being taught in our art colleges and schools. Almost everyone that I meet at my marketing and business workshops tell me the same thing – “we were told nothing in college about how the real, commercial art world works”. Why spend 4 years educating new artists but not give them a proper understanding of how the real world works? i.e. – how the commercial gallery system works and how to work effectively with it (it’s a partnership!) and in it, how to identify and target a market for their work, how to apply basic business and marketing skills to allow them build and develop a viable career.

To make a living as an artist it is not enough simply to be able to create good work and learn how to apply for bursaries and public funding. It requires other skills too. But maybe I’m completely wrong.....what do you think?