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I have been doing a bit of reading round for a blog entry I am writing for www.intute.ac.uk on earning a living as an artist. (These blog entries are paid and are slightly more formal than a-n!). As well as compiling websites in the UK that offer info and advice for artists – a full list to be posted soon – I started looking at what other countries offer their artists.

Something I didn't know, is that in Ireland, sales of artists' works are tax-exempt and have been since 1969:

http://www.visualartists.ie/alr_ate.html

Germany are looking at shortening the time before which artists can register for unemployment benefits. German artists also have the "Kün-stlersozialkasse" (KSK), an insurance scheme for self-employed artists and in 1981 the Artists’ Social Security Act made more links between the KSK and the social security system, although without speaking German, I found it difficult to find out what this means exactly!

In Canada, Netherlands and Denmark there are special pension schemes for artists and the Netherlands also has other benefit/support schemes, such as WAZ, but again my languages let me down. France has system in place to protect on use/reproduction of original work: 'droit de suite' but this naturally has its limits. Spain decided to follow France's example in 2008 and introduce resale rights for artists, not sure if this ever went through though… The UK has had resale rights since 2006 (starting on works with a minimum resale of 1000 euros), an IPO (Intellectual Property Office) report on the impact of those here:

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/about/press/press-release/pr…

Interestingly, all of the European countries I looked at (France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Ireland, UK etc etc) offer tax exemption to companies on corporate sponsorship of the arts and in most cases there are also tax breaks for purchasing works or giving works to public collections.

Lastly, an interesting website from Brooklyn looking at the relationship between art and law, a US focus naturally, but it is international in its outlook:

http://www.clancco.com/

It does seem that artists' lives could be made easier in the UK through tax breaks, help with pensions or special schemes that recognise the unique and random nature of employment/earning as well as massively fluctuating and unpredicatable income. We do have a new deal for musicians, but not visual artists.

Trouble is, I am only just figuring out what I may earn and how I may earn it, nevermind what schemes/help would benefit me in the long term.

Image is by Susan Diab, who kindly agreed to let me reproduce this with the Intute blog entry, hopefully she won't mind it here too! What does it say? Work for a living or is it Work or a living… the ambiguity sums it all up nicely don't you think?

http://www.susandiab.com


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Issue 2 out now, particularly enjoyed Rachel Marsden's piece…

http://www.newartcriticism.co.uk/

Josie Faure Walker's piece 'Skip to the End' also made me chuckle, especially the advert in the bottom right:

'HELP. we're a sucessful commercial gallery that needs an intern to do all of the shit jobs for free. We are an equal opportunities employer, prioritizing minority groups that have a wad of cash behind them for the next 6 months.'


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Just in the Tate for a few hours today so while I am in the cloakroom I am reading the online research journal. The latest issue is all about gallery education, especially relevant to me this week! This article takes a look at artist as educator:

The Artist as Educator: Examining Relationships between Art Practice and Pedagogy in the Gallery Context

Emily Pringle

http://www.tate.org.uk/research/tateresearch/tatepapers/09spring/emily-pringle.shtm


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A slightly better turn to the week with two much more successful workshops under my belt. I also have been incredibly heartened by the four (yes four!) emails and a very encouraging comment below after I posted my woes on the blog. Can I just retract eveything I said about artists not supporting each other? That was such a boost, as was going to see good stuff last night. Karen McLeod was performing at the Greenroom in Manchester as part of their Seed Fund programme – really fantastic stuff and followed by the Cholmondeley's and the Featherstonehaughs, a contemporary dance group with many laughs. I though Karen's performance really stood up against the main act too and was the most poised I have seen her yet. Those things always inspire don't they?

I have also been to see the space for DRAWN IN and have a chat with Bernadette O'Toole, who is putting the show together. We seem to have quite a similar outlook and interest in drawing so it was great to dredge up a lot of my research from the MA at Wimbledon and even better to have a place/time for a new drawing.

Did a book exchange too, with Gordon Shrigley from Marmalade press (we met at the IMT Gallery event) so have a very timely book (Spatula, How Drawing Changed the World) to read in exchange for my 'Lost at Sea'.

Swapping is for winners.

http://www.filmarmalade.co.uk/

http://www.karenmcleod.co.uk/

http://www.thecholmondeleys.org/


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Really enjoyed reading this:

Trade off: Markets for art in the UK

By: Emilia Telese

Emilia Telese’s opening essay offers analysis of the markets for art in the UK highlighting the ‘contradictions and idiosyncrasies’ of the relationship between artists and money.


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