Warning signs about funding our creative sector cannot be ignored
A column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk
THAT Creative Scotland’s warnings about the future for visual arts came on the same day the closure of a leading gallery was announced is painfully symbolic of the precipitous condition of the sector.
The organisation I lead, the Scottish Contemporary Art Network (Scan), joined our members and hundreds of others on Sunday at the famed Inverleith Gallery in Edinburgh as it closed its doors for the last time. As the gathering dispersed more worrying news spread, this time about the future of the exhibition programme at Glasgow Sculpture Studios.
The warnings signs for the sector are writ large. Scan has worked closely with Creative Scotland over the last year to carry out the first comprehensive survey of those working in the visual arts, providing a vast amount of information that has informed the funding body’s Visual Arts Sector Review.
The review found high levels of excellence and activity but warned that the sector is exceptionally fragile. This assessment will be welcomed by our members who feel dominant media narratives in the sector have centred on shock factor stories of unmade beds and bank balances of the art market elite; even our own Glasgow Miracle fairytale (that so many Turner nominees emerge from the city) diminishes the true value of the vibrant, collegiate visual arts community in this country.
It also masks this harsh reality: organisations are committed but overstretched while most artists and cultural workers face a precarious and poorly paid existence. Why is this important? Artists, curators and art organisations provide opportunities for us to think about the world we live in or want to live in; to be challenged and cajoled and sometimes even to leave us totally stumped.
Art does not exist in a vacuum. It plays an important role in tourism, regeneration, health, the environment and education. Artists, curators and art organisations work in all areas of public life. Artists and art organisations are an essential part of regeneration processes. They work in health and care settings and with young people, delivering innovative and high quality workshops, sessions and events.
This is all under threat. Any further cuts to Creative Scotland and local authority budgets could mean the immediate demise of some of our most financially fragile organisations.
The survey shows that the majority of organisations are small in scale, meaning a turnover of £200,000 or less with very small staff teams. More than half have capital building needs but no open fund at Creative Scotland to apply to; and less than one-quarter own their own buildings. Crucially, they spend most of their budgets on the creative programmes, squeezing out incredible value for money but with little left over to prepare for the future. As for those working independently, it is a labour of love. The average income is £14,000: half the national average. One-third of self employed visual artist and cultural workers earn less than £5,000 from their arts work.
There are various reasons for artists choosing to live and work in a particular place but opportunities to develop their practice and exhibit are essential. If galleries close and other paid work continues to evaporate, it won’t be long before our talented, committed and ambitious artists seek something better elsewhere.
Creative Scotland expects that cuts, or at best standstill public funding, are likely. Within the sector, rumours of an approaching financial fiscal cliff are discussed in hushed tones.
The review speaks of the need for resilient organisations and innovative business models but there are few new ways for small, non-commercial operations to make money. Most already work tirelessly to raise funds from trusts, foundations and other sources and the review concedes that they are almost certainly working beyond their capacity. We must be realistic about the potential of philanthropy or commercial models for free-to-enter visual arts organisations.
The public purse is stretched but, if we want to protect against future cuts that will dramatically change the visual arts landscape, strong leadership is required. We must come together from the spheres of public life to champion culture and recognise the central importance of art and artists to wider society, before it’s too late. Seonaid Daly is the Director of Scottish Contemporary Art Network.