Status of the Artist

Working Conditions

Status of the Artist

The concept of “status of the artist” captures the idea of a specific recognition of the role and value of Art and the work of Artists in society, as well as the rights and the policy accommodations that flow from it, in order to facilitate this artistic work and the professional lives of Artists. This status and the rights which artists should enjoy, including moral, economic and social rights, with particular reference to income and social security, was explored in detail in the 1980 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist. Achieving this Recommendation and a global recognition of the status of artists was long a campaign priority for FIA and our sister unions and much of it remains highly relevant today, as the role of creative workers is not acknowledged or accommodated in many societies around the world.

FIA has long facilitated exchanges among its membership on how social security and employment systems may best support the work of artists and how to achieve better conditions for work and return from it in collective bargaining. In recent decades this work has also focused in detail on freelance workers and ensuring that they too may benefit from status of the artist policy measures and systems and enjoy the protections of labour law. FIA continues to work at all levels to make a strong case for artists to enjoy, among other things, equivalent status to other workers with respect to social benefits, freedom of association, strong intellectual property rights protection, career transition mechanisms and measures to facilitate mobility.