2022-05-07
MEDIA RELEASE
The Greens are announcing an artists funding pilot program called The Artists Wage. 10,000 established or emerging artists and arts workers will be free to create while they are paid $772.60 per week for one year.
Australian Greens Spokesperson for the Arts Senator Sarah Hanson-Young joined NSW senate candidate David Shoebridge in Sydney to launch the creative funding initiative, which will breathe life back into the arts sector after two years of cancelled shows and chaos during Covid and endless cutbacks by the Morrison government.
Senator Hanson-Young said it’s critical that we don’t lose a generation of creatives due to the pandemic and the ongoing failure of the Morrison Government to invest in our artists and creatives.
"Ensuring artists receive a living wage will bring stability to a sector that has been left behind by the
Morrison Government. The arts are a core part of Australian culture and contribute so much to our
economy. We must do everything we can to make sure our artists can continue creating.
“The Morrison Government has treated the arts sector and creative workers with contempt, like a bunch of philistines who dismiss the public good of the arts but love belting out tunes from their favourite artists.
“Countries like France and Ireland are successfully running programs to give artists a living wage.
Australia should do the same. The arts helped us all get through lockdowns and now it’s time we are there for them.
“The Artists Wage is part of the Greens’ comprehensive Creative Australia policy to revive and secure our arts and creative industry, including an Artists in Residence program which will see an artist in every school and library across the country to also drive arts jobs and mentorship.”
NSW lead senate candidate David Shoebridge said a thriving arts community is rich in cultural,
economic and creative value.
“The arts sector contributes around 15 billion dollars annually to our GDP, that’s about the same contribution to the economy as the sport sector but it provides about 70,000 more jobs,” David
Shoebridge said.
“Almost 200 000 people work in the arts, that’s four times the number of jobs of the coal mining industry.
“Imagine a pub without music, galleries without artwork, cinemas without films, bookstores without
fiction.”
Across Australia two local councils, one regional and one metropolitan, will bid to jointly run the pilot program in their region with the Commonwealth. Councils will identify local artists and creatives to access the Artists Wage and create a local creative industry plan to work alongside the scheme.
All 10,000 artists receiving the wage will be subject to a standard national criteria and receive one year of the taxable income.
The policy will cost $277.5 million. An open and transparent selection process will be available for
councils in early 2023 to bid to be nominated as an Artists Council.
Artists statements in support of the artists wage
Reg Mombassa (Chris O’Doherty), Artist and Musician said:
“I know of many talented and hardworking artists, musicians and writers who have contributed to the cultural life of this nation but who would never have made a reasonable or sustained income from the sale of their work or from live performances.
A modest wage for creative people would be a great way of solving this problem. It would enable many young, emerging or struggling older artists to concentrate on their work rather than having to scramble for part- or full time jobs in order to survive.
I fully support this proposal for an artist’s wage.”
David Bradbury, two-time Academy Award-nominated documentary filmmaker said:
“I would love to support such a bold initiative. The most creative and potentially influential sector
of our ‘Economy’ other than the straight ‘scientists’ of all disciplines is the Artistic sector - we are
constantly challenging, probing, prodding, shocking society and conventional ‘wisdom’ to look
back at itself and to change if the mirror held up to itself says Change is really needed.
In today’s fast inflationary world, $772.60 will quickly run out for a single income family of mum
and dad and 2 kids at school. But it’s a bloody lot better than most of us earn in today’s fast
polarising Australia between the rich and the poor.”
Andy Saunders, Comedian said: “There’s a lot of reasons why it’s a good idea, but to start with, why wouldn’t you want to support the group of people that collectively inspire people to be better?
Art and performance are the mediums that help the human race move in the right direction, on a stage I’m free to tell the truth through a joke, it’s the best way I can convey a message about racism.
There’s a lot of naivety around the life of an artist or performer, we still have families to feed and
mortgages to pay.”
Alexandra Hudson, winner of the 2022 RAW Comedy Grand Final said:
“As an emerging disabled comedian from a regional area, I encounter a number of barriers to pursuing a career in comedy. The artist wage will mean I am supported financially so I can focus solely on my comedy with the goal of building a career spanning my lifetime.”
Tessa De Josselin, Australian actor, podcaster and voice over artist said:
“Knowing firsthand how challenging a career in the creative arts can be, especially over the last couple of Covid years, any and all policies like this one from the Greens to breathe life back into the arts sector and support emerging artists is necessary, appreciated and strongly supported.”
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