Low incomes, juggling jobs, uncertain futures, and a constant need to be social, available and willing to move: it is fair to say that performing artists live in precarious conditions. But what can be done? How can the position of artists in the field be more sustainable? What will this new, alternative and bright system look like? How to start this paradigm shift? In fact, this system shift may already be happening today. So many individuals, organisations, artists and art workers from across Europe are responding with a multitude of initiatives that span across funds for artists with families, artist lobby organisations, alternative currency systems, space sharing platforms, fair practice labels, and more. At the same time , there is no list or clear overview of all these initiatives. There is a lot of research and reflection about the issue, but it’s difficult to get an overview or keep track. In a session at the IETM Plenary Meeting in Bucharest, Delphine Hesters and I organised a workshop to stimulate exchange about current collaborative experiments to strengthen the position of artists

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DO IT TOGETHER (D.I.T.)
Collective answers to the Precarious
Position of Artists
IETM Plenary Meeting - Bucharest - 21 April 2017
Delphine Hesters & Joris Janssens (Flanders Arts Institute)

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Introduction
• A working session mapping initiatives that create more sustainable working
conditions for artists
• Hosted by Flanders Arts Institute / Kunstenpunt
• Research into career development of artists & postion of artists in the
field
• Stimulating the development of new working models
• Today = sharing
• our research and your experiences & ideas (10:00-11:00)
• developing a collective learning environment, creating connections
(11:00-13:00)

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Previous research Flanders Arts Institute & VTi
Download everything on http://www.flandersartsinstitute.be/specials/perspective-artist
• Foto perspective artist
• Screenshot survey
• Tekst ash > reframing

4. Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

5. Structure of the presentation
1. ‘Freedom & Frenzy’ - research on
the precarious position of the
performing artists
2.‘Do it together’ (D.I.T.): mapping
solutions
- building a collection of inspiring
experiments
- discussion in small groups
- sharing: live & online

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Freedom & Frenzy
Research on the precarious position of artists

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Freedom & Frenzy
1. Dominance of flexwork
• System change: from companies with ensembles and long-term
engagements to project-based work
• Individualization and uncertainty
2. High demands for non-artistic skills
• networking, entrepreneurship…
Research on the precarious position of artists

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Freedom & Frenzy
2. The ‘Slashers’ — Multiple-job holding
• Inside and outside of the arts, artistic and non-artistic activities
• Evidence from Flanders:
• more than 50% engaged in more than 4 productions in 2014
• 1/4 has a job outside of the arts
Research on the precarious position of artists

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Freedom & Frenzy
4. Socio-economic precarity
Evidence from Flanders:
• Performing artists living solely from core artistic work = 10%
• Performing artists living solely from work in the arts sector = 27%
• Net income performing artists (employees, 2014)
Population Belgium Performing artists Actors (2014)
PC 25 11.360 14.017
Median 24.664 17.142 19.000
PC 75 24.000 24.000
% higher education 40% 85% -
Research on the precarious position of artists

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Freedom & Frenzy
5. Fragmentation of means across more and more players
6. Precarization of supporting organisations
7. Inflation of coproductions
• More partners = more coordination and risk of
thinner engagements
Research on the precarious position of artists

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Number of coproducers in productions
http://data.kunsten.be
12

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Freedom & Frenzy
8. Dominance of ‘project’ logics
• short term horizon
• focus on production and outcome > development or ‘practice’
• how to build a sustainable career in a flex-work context?
9. Peer space under pressure of market logics
• Cf. Gielen: a healthy artistic biotope = balance in 4 spheres:
private / peers / market / civic
• Peer space = space of building and sharing knowledge, negotiation
and discussion, ‘internal’ focus
Research on the precarious position of artists

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Do It Together
Working together to create more sustainable working conditions for artists

15. Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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OK, well, we’d be glad radically change the
system, but how do I do that?

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Maybe we start with exchanging experiences:
start from concrete examples, try to get an
overview of the many experiments happening
today, understand why they inspire us, see
how they resonate with local contexts, and
then see how we can move on.

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Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level
Add examples to this Facebook Group

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Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level
http://blog.kunsten.be
Contribute to our blog.

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1. Organizing the artist community in order to
give voice, to share, to reflect

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Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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Watch the 19 talks here

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Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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2. Re-valuing non-economic currencies –
online platforms sharing resources

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Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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TimeBank screenshot

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3. Strengthening the artistic peer sphere

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PAF
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level
— PAF

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The Award
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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4. Fair practices in the arts

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Veem
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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5. Work-life balance – artists as human beings

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Work-life balance
Subtitle
• Sustainable etc
• FOAM

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Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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6. Breaking taboos

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Title
Subtitle
• Dilemma in art competition
• Idleness Academy
• Dat ding van Hans Bryssinck
• Performing Arts Exploitation Fund.
- Second level
• Third level

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Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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7. Artist-run self organisation

41. –Johnny Appleseed
“Type a quote here.”
– L’Amicale de Production, Germinal

42. –Johnny Appleseed
“Type a quote here.”

43. –Johnny Appleseed
“Type a quote here.”
– Diederik Peeters/SPIN, Hulk

44. –Johnny Appleseed
“Type a quote here.”
– SPIN, Imagine Work, 2013

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8. Connecting to contexts and communities

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Pogon
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level
– POGON, Zagreb

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Breaking up in working groups
Building a collection of inspiring examples

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Title
Subtitle
• First Level
- Second level
• Third level

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8. Connecting to contexts and communities
7. Artist-run self organisation
6. Breaking taboos
5. Work-life balance – artists as human beings
4. Fair practices in the arts
3. Strengthening the artistic peer sphere
2. Sharing non-economic resources
1. Organizing the artist community
9. (…)

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- Now: two light bulb moment from every
group
- Write a blog post: http://blog.kunsten.be
Share your learning curve!
Contribute the collection of examples
- Share the initiatives you talked about on the
Freedom & Frenzy FB Group
- Send us a mail with links and examples:
joris@kunsten.be

51. FLANDERS ARTS INSTITUTE51
DO IT TOGETHER (D.I.T.)
Answers to the Precarious Position
of Artists
IETM Plenary Meeting - Bucharest - 21 April 2017
Delphine Hesters & Joris Janssens (Flanders Arts Institute)

52. Evidence from Flanders (2016)
CUDOS research group UGent (sociology) - Jessy Siongers, Astrid Van Steen, John Lievens
Commissioned by: Flemish government, Kunstenpunt, SFP, Kunstenloket, oKo, ACOD-cultuur, VAF, VFL
2706 respondents (in analysis)
• 716 visual artists
• 392 directors & script writers (film)
• 899 musicians & composers
• 308 writers & illustrators
• 391 performing artists
• 457 actors (survey 2014)
Online survey
individual invitations to identified
‘professional artists’ + open call (90/10%
in response)
On the socio-economic conditions
of artists
Themes: activities (artistic and non
artistic), time, income, costs, job
satisfaction, need for support etc.