The Precarious Workers Brigade has published an open letter criticising Somerset House’s call for volunteers and stating that the Icelandic musician’s exhibition should be an opportunity to offer paid work.
A recent advert by Sainsbury’s in Camden asked for an artist to ‘volunteer their skills’ to refurbish the branch’s staff canteen, with the resulting social media storm prompting press articles and an apology from the supermarket. a-n Executive Director Jeanie Scott considers what the incident says about the barriers and misconceptions artists face.
Producer and writer Carolyn Black has worked in the visual arts for over two decades. Having witnessed many ups and downs in the sector, she believes things have never been so bad for artists in the UK. It’s time, she says, for things to change…
Marina Abramović’s New York-based institute for performance art is looking for experienced applicants for some key part-time roles. But there’s a catch – you need to be able to commit to two or more days a week and not expect to get paid.
I’m quoted in this article by David Trigg, about the current trend for arts organisations to replace paid invigilators with volunteers. What’s not mentioned in the article is that these jobs are not just important employment opportunities for people – […]
Jennifer Picken has been working with a-n since her MFA studies at Newcastle University, and continues her role in the Communications and Partnerships team working remotely from Amsterdam – where she has a studio. Here she maps her alternative working routes through undergraduate study, from volunteering to mentoring and beyond.
Maria studied at Wimbledon College of Art for an Art Foundation diploma and Leeds University, graduating in 2008 with a BA in Contemporary Art Practice. She also lived in Brno, Czech Republic for a year with the Erasmus programme, studying […]
Andrew Maclean (born 1980, Kirkcaldy) graduated in 2007 with MSc Electronic Imaging from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, and in 2003 with BA (Hons) Fine Art from the same institution. In 2004 he became a committee member […]
Volunteer opportunities are the norm across the visual arts, often perceived as the only route for newcomers to the profession to gain the CV experience that will get them noticed and their foot on the career ladder.
A letter in the July issue of a-n Magazine talked of there being a “fine line between voluntary work and blatant exploitation”. There are an increasing number of volunteer placements and internships on offer nowadays. One recently-listed volunteer offer stated […]
Cuts in funding at Further Education and Higher Education institutions have had a huge impact recently, particularly within arts departments nationwide, but only cursorily covered in the general press. The government directive to increase student numbers in spite of this […]
