Unemployed Artists

Fellow appraiser and journal contributor (Framed Works on Paper – What to Look for Under the Dust Cover) sent me an interesting article from the Christian Science Monitor on how many professional artists are currently fairing in this economic market. Struggling artist is not a new term, but the CSM article entitled Artists in Survival Mode as Market Crumbles certainly brings into context how hard many artist have been effected by the world economic slow down.

The impact of slowing sales in contemporary art galleries has a direct negative effect on many professional artists. The article also discusses that economic and employment indicators on artists typically lag other indicators, and should the economic markets start to trend upwards, it is still possible artist employment will lag behind other sectors. The article is not only specific to contemporary artists, but musicians and actors as well

The CSM states Last week, the National Endowment for the Arts released research showing that artists are now unemployed at about twice the rate of other professional workers. Approximately 129,000 artists were out of work nationwide in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to the report – up 63 percent from the same period in 2007. The NEA estimated that the figures might have been worse had thousands of artists not left the workforce due to retirement, a desire to pursue outside opportunities, or general discouragement. And the forecast for the next few years is no brighter. Sunil Iyengar, the director of research and analysis at the NEA, said unemployment was a "lagging economic indicator," and that the figures can still rise even months or years after a general economic recovery. Artist unemployment, for instance, did not reach its zenith until two years after the 2001 recession, when the markets had regained their strength

To read the Christiion Science Monitor article, click HERE.