Recalibrating Our Valuation of Artists

Professional ballet is a business.?Full stop.

Professional artists must be compensated appropriately.?Also full stop.

Artists: we have to stop giving it away.

Consumers: we need to stop expecting it for free.

An ad recently made the rounds, touting an “opportunity” for local performing artists to perform for two hours at a heavily-trafficked public-private venue in the Pittsburgh region.

Some excerpts from the ad:

…program, which aims to enhance the atmosphere of the facilities for visitors and staff by presenting visual, performing and public art of the highest quality. For visitors that might not have a chance to experience the vibrant performing arts community that exists in our region, [this venue] serves as a portal to our cultural amenities.

…provides performing artists with a competitive fee, a diverse international audience, and world-class facilities and sound equipment that include a large elevated stage, truss lighting, monitors, subwoofers, head speakers, a mixing board, music stands, microphones and stands, and all related cords. Also available is a Bergmann Heritage Series baby grand piano...for acoustic sets.

…interested in applicants who can perform two hours’ worth of original, high-quality content, and can represent our region’s robust and diverse performing arts community in a creative, professional, and family-friendly manner to a diverse audience. Eligible disciplines include all categories and genres of music, dance, theater, and performance-based art, including spoken word, puppetry, gymnastics, carnival and circus arts, and magic and illusion.?

This sounds fantastic, and truly does represent a wonderful opportunity to showcase our artists and our vibrant arts culture.?The facility and technical set up sound first rate.

All except the part about providing “performing artists with a competitive fee.”?For a group of two or more individuals: $350.00.?

Excuse me??In what universe is that a “competitive” fee?

Listen, this is not about the organizers trying to pull a fast one.?This is just one more manifestation of our complete societal misalignment when it comes to appropriately valuing the arts and, especially, our artists.

Yes, but think of the exposure!?It’s an excellent opportunity to get your brand out there!

Perhaps well meaning, but actually insulting.

Do you work in your job, in your profession, for much less than you are worth because you’re getting exposure??Getting your brand out there?

Professional artists are in business. ?They are businesspeople.?They are entrepreneurs.

Respect that.?

Keep your exposure.?Pay artists responsibly and let them hire professional marketers and promotional services.?

Nonprofit does NOT mean the service is free or low cost.?Nonprofit simply means the proceeds need to cover the cost of the operation and any surplus must be rolled back into the core mission, to do more of, do better at, what the organization exists to do in the first place.?The profits cannot be disbursed as profit or financial gain to private individuals or shareholders.

The CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) earns a base salary of $750,000.?According to Charity Navigator, the average nonprofit CEO’s pay is $123,000.

Do we think professional employees at nonprofits such as United Way are working for free??The staff at Habitat for Humanity, the Nature Conservancy, the Red Cross, the Mayo Clinic??Of course not.?

Why would we not expect professional dancers to be paid at least $50,000 a year, plus full benefits????They have spent their entire lives dedicated to becoming the best of the best, well above the 99th percentile.?They are professional athletes, and professional artists, who have given everything of themselves, sacrificed more than most can fathom, to perform at an elite level.???

Surely, no one expects them to perform for free.??

If we treated this like a business, as we should and must, and you asked for a quote to perform this service, this is what that quote might look like:

This estimate is probably light.?Arts industry professionals might well roll their eyes and scoff at these figures.

These numbers do not account for at least one week in the studio developing and rehearsing for the performance—operations typically funded through other channels such as grants, sponsorships, partnerships and individual or corporate investments.

The “starving artist” is vile and destructive myth or meme we continue to perpetuate, even within the arts industry, and we need to banish it from our thinking.?We don’t embrace, or romanticize, the notion of starving accountants, teachers, nurses, marketing professionals, insurance brokers, bankers, coal miners, steel workers, doctors, lawyers, or engineers.

Imagine your life without art. Imagine Pittsburgh without artists.

If we really want Pittsburgh to have a vibrant, sustainable, prolific arts community, we better start making sure dollars are steadily flowing into that community.?Great art and a great arts culture is an investment in community health, economic development, creative innovation, and regional growth.?

Where art and artists thrive is where society thrives.??

Buy into that reality, please.