Real Job
Co-presented with Counihan Gallery
SATURDAY 1 April - SUNDAY 21 May 2023
COUNIHAN GALLERY
Event Location: Counihan Gallery, 233 Sydney Road (inside Brunswick Town Hall), Brunswick
Cost: Free
Time: Open 11AM to 5PM Wednesday to Saturday, and 1 to 5PM on Sundays.
Accessibility: This venue is wheelchair accessible.
For more information on the accessibility of the Counihan Gallery, visit their Access and Inclusion page.
This exhibition includes sound.
Due to the varied sensory experience on display, this exhibition may be a difficult environment for visitors who experience sensory overload.
Artists are asked what they do for their ‘real job’ – what pays the bills?
Image caption: Nina Ross and Stephen Palmer. Union Banner, 2019-20. Cotton, dowelling. 175 x 150 cm. Courtesy the artists
Real Job
Australian society neglects the labour of visual artists. Artists are asked what they do for their ‘real job’ – what pays the bills?
Artists and artworkers are frequently exploited due to the unregulated nature of the industry, insufficient funding and lack of union coverage. Peak body recommended rates of pay are routinely ignored. Many are nervous to criticise institutional practices lest they ‘bite the hand that feeds them’. The federal government has promised that artists will be recognised as ‘workers’, but what does this entail? Art is often considered separate from life, a trick that benefits those extracting profit from artists’ labour: if art isn’t work, then it doesn’t need to be remunerated.
Forming the Workers Art Guild, Noel Counihan was an artist and activist who made art in response to economic hardship. Artists in this two-part exhibition are organisers, activists and workers. What better place to discuss the value of artists’ labour?
This exhibition includes work by Aaron Billings, Amelia Dowling, Anna Dunnill, Ben Juers, David Haidon, Tia Kass, Judy Kuo, Danni McGrath, Hollie Moly, Stephen Palmer, Nina Ross, Madeleine Thornton-Smith and Catherine Story. Curated by Madeleine Thornton-Smith.
A panel discussion Paying the Artist will take place on May 6th 2023 at Counihan Gallery, moderated by curator Madeleine Thornton-Smith. In this panel, representatives from peak bodies and unions, curators, activists and artists discuss how they have collectivised arts workers to improve work conditions. Can grassroots advocacy movements make a difference? Will Australia follow countries such as France and Ireland, who have wage insurance schemes, better grant funding or a basic income for creatives?
Book your spot for this free event:
This program will be streamed on Instagram Live. A captioned recording of the event will made available on the Counihan Gallery Instagram channel.