England's First Artists Union Officially Recognized in Landmark Decision
Source: artnet
By Naomi Rea,
Back in 2014, a group of artists sick of being exploited organized a de facto union. Three years on, Artists' Union England (AUE) has finally been formally recognized in a landmark decision that will make it the country's first official union for professional visual and applied artists, the group has announced.
The average annual income for visual artists is between £5,000-£9,000 ($7,000-$12,000) and yet, time and again they are misused and asked to work for free, often given the excuse of being offered “exposure" in exchange for their work.
According to their website, AUE was founded to “redress the fact that all other cultural workers had independent representation from a Trade Union." The organization hopes to combat the ramifications of austerity measures and cuts to arts organisations, local authorities, galleries, and publicly funded bodies.
The formal “certificate of independence" was finally granted after the group raised the £4,500 cost of the certification, which acknowledged the union as a democratic operation.
FULL story at link below. AUE website: http://www.artistsunionengland.org.uk/
Members of the union protesting government austerity measures. Photo via AUE's Facebook.
Read more: https://news.artnet.com/art-world/artists-union-england-officially-certified-520928
Solidarity from other unions donating $ to make this happen!!!
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I remember as a young commercial artist (not in the UK tho') I was commissioned to do 4 brochures for 4 different companies by a PR firm. When I finished my 1st drafts to show at the meeting they called... I went in and 4 other artists were there. All of us were flabbergasted that we had all gotten the same assignment... the company wanted to pick one and just dismiss the rest of us without paying us for our work... which they actually ended up doing.... still keeping all the mock ups!
Hello people!...if you commission something and then decide to use something else... that doesn't mean you don't have to pay me for the work I did for you.
People think art is a hobby.... great FUN! For the kids, really! And of course, if you love your work, it's not really WORK...right? Right?
We sorely need one in the US! Period!
