Australian artists only earn $23,200 a year from their art – and are key financial investors in keeping the industry afloat

<https://theconversation.com/australian-artists-only-earn-23-200-a-year-from-their-art-and-are-key-financial-investors-in-keeping-the-industry-afloat-228792>

"Arts companies and individual artists in Australia are supported by government
arts agencies, philanthropists, industry bodies, private donors and patrons.
However, it is frequently overlooked that a major source of support for the
arts in this country comes from artists themselves.

Artists such as writers, actors, visual artists, musicians, dancers and others
effectively make a personal financial contribution to supporting cultural
activity through their willingness to accept a lower reward for their work than
they could earn elsewhere.

Their subsidy to the arts helps to sustain artistic practice and represents a
significant personal investment in the future of the cultural life of this
country.

The incomes earned by professional artists are perennially low. Our new
research, funded by Creative Australia and published today, shows in the
2021–22 financial year, artists’ income from creative work averaged only
A$23,200. Even when other sources of income are added – such as from teaching
or working outside the arts – the average gross income of Australian artists
was still only $54,500 in the year."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics