The National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) invites you to sign the attached petition (here) intended for presentation to Federal Arts Minister, the Hon. Simon Crean MP. The petition calls for the mandating of payment of artists’ fees for art work exhibited in public galleries either on loan or commissioned from artists, at the rate recommended in NAVA’s Code of Practice for the Professional Australian Visual Arts, Craft and Design Sector.
As you may be aware, NAVA has always been a strong advocate for artists’ right to be paid at an appropriate level for their work and the contribution they make to the cultural life of the community. Though some galleries do pay at the recommended minimum level or above, many others still do not.
In order to enable small to medium galleries and other exhibition spaces to meet their obligations, the petition also calls for the Government to provide these galleries where needed, with adequate additional financial support specified for this purpose.
It is intended that this petition will be presented to Minister Crean in August to ask for this new contribution towards artists’ financial viability to be included as part of the forthcoming National Cultural Policy, promised for delivery later this year.
The deadline is July 31st 2012.
BOX OF BIRDS 
It’s very rare for an artist to receive any kind of fee or stipend for showing work. Often, commercial galleries will partially or fully cover artists’ expenses for travel, shipping, and/or framing. Non-profit institutions, on the other hand, are notorious for not paying anything to artists. A survey of New York artists was conducted around this topic in 2010, and the results came out just last week. You can read a break-down of it here if you’re interested: http://hyperallergic.com/50333/why-are-most-artists-so-fucking-poor-william-powhida-wage/
Yes. Regional galleries here usually pay artists fees, smaller galleries often don’t. Yet they are using the artists work to get people through the door. What’s the situation in the States?
From an artist in the United States, I hope that petition effort is successful and that it becomes a trend.