David Lammy MP delivered a speech at the RSA this week on the importance of a liberal arts education (transcript and podcast here).
It’s great to have the arts discussed properly by ministers, but for the many of us who already know how important they are, discussing how much we contribute and how wonderful culture is doesn’t really deal with the issues facing individuals and organizations on the inside.
It’s true that those parents who don’t see the “usefulness” in their child going on to study the arts need to be educated about the broad range of benefits of a career in the sector, at the moment at least, they do have a point. Whilst a career in the arts carries with it a significantly lower earning potential for the average practitioner, we’re never going to be able to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our peers in medicine, engineering, business etc.
In recent discussion with professionals across a range of professions, now all well moneyed, I’ve found it fascinating how many are now returning to projects for the public good, and indeed the Arts. I’ve lost count of the number of businessmen and women, lawyers and doctors, who I’ve heard discussing that what they really care about is their photography, poetry etc. Never one to dissuade or be dissapointed by anyone engaging in creative activities, I love to hear these people connect their experiences with what’s “really important to life when you get down to it”. However, it must be said these seems to contribute very little to moving away from the feeling that engagement in the arts is largely a pastime for the wealthy.
The value placed on the learning and labour of those who choose to make the creativity their livelihood, by contrast, seems to constantly be questioned. A familiar scenario to most creative graduates will be the abundance of work experience adverts and “opportunities” asking for those with skills in everything from sewing to web design to give their time in exchance for the “experience” of working in an exciting company. These experiences may of course be wonderful, and indeed the companies exciting, but why should we not be paid a decent rate for our contribution? A company wanting a web design student to create or augment their online presence for instance, is not primarily doing so because they will benefit from the vibrant and fulfilling experience of having a creative in their midst, they are doing so to create profit. Even in the public sector, museums and galleries, we seem to run our institutions and organizations on a raft of free labour, relying on the enthusiasm and committment of a core of people entering a competitive market, and looking for any opportunity. It seems bizarre that even within the same buildings will sit a host of staff, from cleaners to executives who are carrying out similar tasks, but rightly expect to be remunirated for their labour (and indeed are protected by the National Minimum Wage).
Internships, work experience, apprenticeships and all the rest work well as part of a balanced learning experience. They must not be a way for businesses or organizations in any sector to buoy up poor practice that means they cannot afford to staff themselves adequately to stay open.
As famously referenced by Whistler in his defence of a two hundred guinea price tag on the Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, creatives have a right to expect decent remuniration for their work. We may enjoy it, it may even look relatively easy or quick, but the value attached must be a reflection not only of the time spent creating one piece, project or concept, but of the lifetime spent to get to the point where this can be delivered so fluently. We face a bleak picture for individuals in the creative sector until employers and clients are prepared to reflect our real value in what we are paid, employment legislation is formed and enforced to put in place a safety net, and the members of the creative community are prepared to take pride in their worth and not to bow to expectations of giving their labour for free to those who can or should be able to pay for it.
