Pay for artists, not exploitation
Joint national chair of the Artists Union England ZITA HOLBOURNE argues that artists are systematically neglected when it comes to paying them for their labour
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I WILL be moving Motion 9 at TUC Congress on ending the “low pay/no pay” culture in the arts sector.
As a black, disabled woman and working artist, I live and breathe the experiences highlighted in the motion.
Art benefits every single person in society and yet it’s frequently perceived as a hobby and hardworking, talented and skilled artists are told by organisations and institutions that wish to benefit from their art that they don’t have a budget, or that they have a low budget, or they don’t have any money to pay but “can’t we do it anyway out of our love of art,” as if we can live off the air we breathe and don’t have bills to pay or mouths to feed.
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Artists are frequently first in line when it comes to cuts, but society as a whole is left all the poorer – it’s time they were properly valued, says ZITA HOLBOURNE of Artists Union England
As well as paying tribute to those who arrived in Britain from the Caribbean, African and Asian regions to work and to build a better future for themselves, we must recall the ongoing injustices they and their families still face, says ZITA HOLBOURNE
ZITA HOLBOURNE introduces some of the practical, political and legal challenges to racism that black and brown-led movements are making in Britain and globally
Ahead of a motion to Congress on self-employment, ZITA HOLBOURNE explains why workers in the arts are so often overlooked, the problems this causes — and why we as movement must change this for good
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