Now is the time to give artists a thriving wage

Artists should not only be able to make ends meet. Artists need to be able to thrive.

Imagine a world in which artists and creatives in the United States, particularly artists of colour, not only had their needs met but were provided with wellness and healthcare resources, were respected as human beings, and thus could deepen their own practices and further build their communities. In a country where these basic resources are not free or accessible, how can organisations fill the void?

As an arts executive, I ask myself how I am prioritising equity and centring humanity in our field. How can we, as arts organisations, dream up other ways of operating that centre pay equity and racial equity—which are intrinsically linked? How can the arts and culture industry support artists in being artists? In essence, practicing what Angela Y. Davis says: “You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.” In April, Threewalls, the Black woman-led arts non-profit in Chicago that I lead, unveiled our From Living to Thriving Wage Policy Report, which seeks to address these questions and provide a course of action.

In this country, working as a full-time, practicing artist presents challenges that make it difficult to survive, much less thrive. Artists must pay for healthcare out of pocket. They must rely on commissions and grants from organisations that restrict how they can spend grant funds, often barring an artist from using the resources for basic needs like food, healthcare and wellness of any kind. On top of these structural challenges, there is no standard for calculating payment for an artist’s work, which can lead to inconsistent or inadequate payment for their labour. Dreaming with scholars, organisers and scholars, at Threewalls we are hoping to change that and create infrastructure that addresses these basic needs.

All artists’ labour needs to be considered and valued. This is why we developed our report, which examines pay practices for artists in our local Chicago community and beyond. Grounded in Black feminist theory, our thriving wage policy centres artists and their humanity. We are following what Nwamaka Agbo defines as “restorative economics”, which “invites us to envision what a just economy might look like—to remake society with structures and systems that honour our humanity, invest in our collective healing and well-being, and help us transition towards a model of democratic governance where all communities can live and thrive together”.

Anywhere in the US, for a healthy and creative community to thrive, artists’ basic needs must be met. This is true for artists at every level of their practices, from emerging artists to those who have been working for decades. As we experienced during the past four years of the pandemic, engagement with the work of artists is necessary for the overall well-being of both the quality of everyday life and the culture that represents it. This echoes the remarks of the Depression-era director of the Federal Arts Project, Holger Cahill: “The resources for art in America depend upon the creative experience stored up in its art traditions, upon the knowledge and talent of its living artists and the opportunities provided for them, but most of all upon opportunities provided for the people as a whole to participate in the experience of art.”

We cannot get to a future where artists are not struggling without radically transforming how we function as a culture. A living wage is the floor—not the ceiling. A thriving wage enables artists not only to meet their needs equitably but also to flourish, fostering future savings and investments within their own communities. It is a human-centred system that will support people and ensure that artists’ work is appropriately recognised and shared with future generations.

Action plan

Here are four steps organisations can take to move the needle towards supporting artists living in this country with a thriving wage:

1. We must consider equity holistically and acknowledge that it is impossible to interrogate what equity looks like when there are physical, mental and emotional implications for existing as a racialised person in this country. If we are to even begin the consideration of an equitable or thriving wage in the arts, there has to be a commitment to equity as a whole.
2. Organisations can reimagine their payment practices and codify pay policies similar to those outlined in our report, which we adapted within our organisation this spring. Threewalls defines support as caring for artists’ holistic well-being and continued success—which extends beyond compensation. In addition to financial compensation, organisations can offer other support as part of their policies, including healthcare and childcare.
3. We must rethink restrictions surrounding payment and grant-making to artists and consider emphasising wellness and social support for any project we seek to fund.
4. We can increase the transparency of our pay practices and engage in conversations with funders, donors and other organisations about collectively helping artists in the ways that they need. These conversations must engage every level of the funding process, from foundations to non-profits to artists, to make systemic and lasting change. In particular, we need to centre artists’ voices within policy discussions at a local and national level.

Co-creating a world where artistic production is valued and nurtured holistically is necessary for a just society. It requires cross-sector solidarity and a commitment to collective well-being. With a care-centred approach, we can all collectively move towards a thriving wage for artists. This work cannot be done in a vacuum. This is an invitation to join us in honouring the humanity of artists in particular and society as a whole. As the poet Gwendolyn Brooks wrote: “We are each other’s harvest: we are each other’s business: we are each other’s magnitude and bond.”

• Jeffreen M. Hayes, Ph.D, is the executive director of Threewalls, a public curator and an art historian. The From Living to Thriving Wage Policy Report is available to download and read in full online.