Cultural sector told pay for artists needs to be overhauled

● Fairer deal for freelance workers pledged under new arts blueprint

A better pay deal for the nation’s artists has been pledged ahead of a new cultural blueprint being created.

The Scottish Government has admitted too many are having to “work for very little or free”, with others unable to sustain a freelance career without taking on another job.

A summit of leading arts organisations in Glasgow heard there was a pressing need to tackle “the issue of inequality in culture”.

Scottish culture secretary Fiona Hyslop told the event at Glasgow Women’s Library: “Wearecommittedtotackling inequalities and making Scotland a stronger, fairer, more inclusive society. How a nation values its artists and creative people is an insight into the values of that society.”

The government has intervened less than a year after a damning report found that only one in five artists in Scotland earns more than £10,000 a year. Two thirds of working artists were said to earn less than £5,000 a year, arts agency Creative Scotland found. The new strategy is being drawn up by its director of arts, Leonie Bell.

Ms Hyslop said: “Artists and freelancers too often experience challenging working patterns and uneven rates of pay.

“There are still too many 0 Culture secretary Fiona Hyslop told an arts conference that how a nation treats its creative people is a reflection on that society instances of freelancers being expected to work for very little or for free. For some, a freelance career is simply unsustainable unless they have some other means of support.

“The status of the cultural workforce and ways to improve their economic and social position is something that we are interested in exploring as the strategy develops.

“Without the ideas and contributions of artists and creative people we are all poorer. It is artists who often think in ways that are beyond our current understanding of the world.”

Ms Hyslop also admitted there were still too many “barriers” to accessing arts and culture around the country, citing people living in poverty, with physical or mental health conditions, and without university degrees as examples.

She said the arts sector itself needed to become more “inclusive and equitable” if Scottish culture was to “accurately represent” Scottish society.