A Plague of Artists

Forget the H1N1 virus, there is a plague of artists in BC, according to Hill Strategies Research (HSR), a company that conducts research on the arts in Canada. The revelations of their analyses can seem, on the surface, rather depressing. I draw your attention to them not to depress you, but instead to underscore the dominant message of my book and my workshops about the business of the visual arts: success in the visual arts requires the same degree of skill (artistic and business), hard work and dedication as in all other forms of work.

The HSR analyses give you a view of the arts as an industry, and as with selling pizzas, it is a highly competitive business. If you go to the HSR homepage (www.hillstrategies.com) and click on the section called “Statistical Insights” you will have access to documents that provide revealing information that is extremely relevant to visual artists, and to artists in BC in particular. In one report, A Statistical Profile of Artists in Canada, HSR analysis shows that the average income of artists is “less than half the typical earnings of all Canadian workers”. It also says that the annual income of artists was in decline even before the current recession began – particularly for artists from visible minorities.

The saddest statistical revelation in this report for me, however, was that “economic returns to higher education are much lower for artists than for other workers”. This statistic refers to all those who self-identified as artists on their census return (including performing artists). Although it is distressing when research suggests that higher education is irrelevant to economic return, this may simply mean that talent trumps training in the arts.

In another report, Artists in Canada’s Provinces and Territories, HSR writes: “among the 10 provinces, British Columbia has the largest percentage of its labour force in arts occupations (1.08%); [it is] the only province above 1% and a figure that is well above the Canadian average of 0.77%. British Columbia has 25,900 artists who spent more time at their art than at any other occupation [in May 2006]”.

BC artists will be interested to know that in the report entitled, Artists in Large Canadian Cities, HSR reveals that “Vancouver, Victoria and North Vancouver have the highest concentrations of artists”, and that “Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver all saw an increase in the number of artists between 1991 and 2006”. And in Artists in Small and Rural Municipalities in Canada, they found that “seven of the 10 most artistic small and rural municipalities in Canada are in British Columbia”. Their work further indicates that the BC municipality with the highest artistic concentration is the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District which has 45 artists among a total labour force of 480, for an artistic concentration of 9.4 (second only to Cape Dorset among Canadian municipalities). The other BC communities in the top ten rural areas of artistic density are Comox-Strathcona (8.2%), Bowen Island (6.6%), Nanaimo (5.8%), Saltspring Island (5.2%), Lions Bay (4.8%) and the Cowichan Valley (4.4%).

The implications are clear. We get involved in an economically risky profession when we choose to become professional artists who show and sell in the marketplace. That is why so many artists of accomplishment whom I know are also part-time or full-time employees and/or are married to income earners.

Artists who aim to live exclusively off income derived from the sale of their artwork take on a serious challenge. When they also choose to offer the marketplace works that they create free of market considerations, they take on an almost impossible challenge – especially in BC. HSR’s work shows us that artists who live in BC – especially in those communities with a high density of artists – work in a very competitive market. Logically, those with the “loudest voice” will be “heard”. You must either find a truly unique artistic language or develop astute business skills to “be heard”.

To me, this is not depressing research. It is, however, a reminder of the challenge and importance of making very strategic marketing and sales decisions. Use the information to advance your career by telling your target consumers in BC and Vancouver that they have more art (and better art) to choose from when they buy – and, of course, tell them you are one of the best.

You can also use the information to advocate locally. You can inform the business development agencies and media about the density of artists in your community and about the importance of leading consumers in a “buy local and buy originals” campaign. Tell your local arts organizations about this research and involve them in support of the campaign – especially in light of the cuts to the arts in BC.

Whereas the HSR research might seem bad to the individual, it can be seen as good for the collective. Statistics are all about how you read and use them. And when you use the Hills information to advance local support of the artists in communities dense with artists, the theories of Richard Florida serve well to further your argument.

Mr. Florida, in case you are not familiar with his work, writes about something he terms the creative class. His thesis is that “creativity has replaced raw materials or natural harbours as the crucial wellspring of economic growth”. “To be successful in this emerging creative age, regions must develop, attract and retain talented and creative people who generate innovations, develop technology-intensive industries and power economic growth,” he says. The Hills Research site is rich with information about Florida and his work. Just type “Richard Florida” in the search function on the homepage to see all the information available.

We artists live in a world that is highly competitive, and HSR shows us where the competition is greatest. At the same time, Richard Florida (and many other economists and social scientists who believe as he does) says that we may be heading towards an era of increased respect for professional creative practitioners. The message is: work hard and be hopeful.
Happy New Year.