Earnings for visual artists in Britain have plunged by 40% since 2010, with experts predicting a “talent drain” from the UK because EU countries offer more attractive working environments.
A report commissioned by the Design and Artists Copyright Society (DACS), found that visual artists had a median annual income of £12,500, with 80% of the 1,200 creatives surveyed saying their earnings were “unstable”, or “very unstable”.
The situation was even more stark for women, who earned 40% less than men, while disabled artists took home a median of £3,750. Those artists who worked second and third jobs, such as teaching, earned an average of £17,500, far below the UK-wide average income of just over £37,000.
Christian Zimmermann, the CEO of DACS, said the situation was so challenging for visual artists trying to sustain a career in the UK that many would have to leave the country in order to carry on.
He said: “There’s a really stark picture drawn by this report. The average earning of £12,500 per year is shocking, it’s under the minimum wage and that’s not a viable career really.”
There’s a real discrepancy between the UK and other countries – people might have to leave because there are better conditions, particularly in the EU.”
Dr Amy Thomas and Dr Arthur Ehlinger, two of the researchers who worked on the report at the University of Glasgow, said artists were finding their earnings were being squeezed by a combination of funding cuts, inflation and the rise of AI.
One artist interviewed said their rent had risen by 40% in the last four years, forcing them to go on to universal credit, while Arts Council England’s funding has been slashed by 30% since the survey was last conducted in 2010.
Zimmermann said: “AI is a big factor that has started to affect entry level and lower-paid jobs. But it’s also funding cuts: charities are going under, businesses are closing down, the financial pressure on the arts is growing.”
“It’s very tempting to lay the blame at the feet of AI,” said Thomas, “but I think it is the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s like we’ve been playing a game of KerPlunk where you keep taking out different bits of funding and see how little you can sustain a career with.”
The artist Larry Achiampong, who had a break-out year in 2022 with his Wayfinder solo show, said the fees artists receive have plummeted.
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“The compensation for the work that we do tends to be the last thing that’s brought up by institutions,” said Achiampong. “There are all kinds of excuses that are produced, I do the maths and find that I often end up out of pocket.”
The British-Ghanaian artist was offered £350 to participate in a group exhibition that would tour four institutions. “I have sympathy for organisations in terms of the funding cuts, but it doesn’t excuse the treatment of artists and their pay as an afterthought,” he added.
Achiampong said that after almost 20 years as a professional artist he had started to consider changing career, despite being established and having exhibited at the most well-known institutions in the UK.
“Ten years from now, as a parent of two, I can’t go on like this, something has to give,” he said. “I’ve realistically looked at making money in other areas, like gaming, because if I carry on this way I’ll be packing up in five years.”