GEM/SMC GRASS ROOTS PROJECT
Guidance Notes - Working with Artists
CONTENTS
• Planning Your Project
• Rates of Pay *
• The Next Step
• Case Studies
• Further Information
PLANNING YOUR PROJECT
When starting a project with a professional artist, it is important to consider
a number of different factors.
What is your budget for the project?
Make sure you include:
• the actual workshop or activity time
• the artist’s planning time
• pre and post event meetings
• the set-up and clear-up of a workshop or event
• time for evaluation and reports
• cost of materials
• cost of travel
What is the timescale for the project?
Take into consideration:
• the time is takes to recruit the artist
• the planning and sourcing of materials on the part of the artist
• the time needed for disclosure checks
• the time it will take to market the event (if appropriate)
• any funding deadlines for start and completion of the project
What do you want the artist to do?
Think about:
• What will the final product be?
• What particular skills are you looking for in the artist (e.g. technical
skills in woodcarving and experience of working with teenagers)?
• Who will be responsible for the group? What support will the artist need in
terms of staff?
RATES OF PAY *
The Scottish Artist Union (SAU) has developed recommended guidelines for
national rates of pay for visual and applied artists in Scotland. The figures
for 2004 – 2006 are as follows;
Hourly Rates:
£16.25 p/hr (minimum rate)
£21.50 p/hr with 3 yrs experience
£26.75 p/hr with 5 yrs experience
Sessional Rates:
£108 p/day (£54 p/ ½ day) (minimum rate)
£160 p/day (£80 p/ ½ day) with 3 yrs experience
£214 p/day (£100 p/ ½ day) with 5yrs experience
• The rates should apply to all aspects of contracted work, from project
planning and development to workshop setting up, execution and clear up. The SAU
executive rejects the idea that the artistic process can be deconstructed and
variable rates applied to it.
• All hours worked should be accounted for and properly costed. Travel expenses
should be paid over and above all fees.
• All costs for the supply/hire of equipment should be paid over and above all
fees.
• These rates are recommended minimum rates relating to qualifications
/experience, which are defined by 'years as a working artist', and would be
evidenced by a professional CV and references, as is the convention in other
employment contracts.
All artists retain the right to negotiate rates of pay over and above these
guidelines.
Artists' Residencies
Residency Rates:
£16,200 p/annum (pro rata) minimum.
£27,000 p/annum (pro rata) with 5 years+ experience
All residencies should be calculated on a pro rata basis where the residency
exceeds 20 working days.
Placing within this scale will be negotiated based on career history and
experience. Again, all artists retain the right to negotiate rates of pay over
and above these guidelines.
Biennially at the SAU Annual General Meeting these figures will be reviewed and
as a minimum, will be increased in line with inflation .
*Information kindly supplied by the Scottish Artist Union, please see
www.sau.org.uk for more information.
THE NEXT STEP
Once you have a plan and an appropriate budget for the project, you can start to
seek the appropriate artist for the task. It is a good idea to provide a
contract with the artist for their time of employment. This can include your
expectations from the artist, the duties required, timescale, budget and
cancellation arrangements applying to either the side (the artist and the
organisation).
You will also want to consider whether the artist is paid at completion of the
project or whether you will provide part payment at the start of the project
with final payment on completion. This may be more relevant if the artist is
overseeing the purchase of materials and has high travel expenses (both of which
should be costed over and above the artist’s wage).
The GEM Freelance network has produced useful guidelines on Choosing and Using a
Museum Education Consultant or a Freelance Educator. Please see the freelance
section in the GEM website for more details.
www.gem.org.uk .
The Museums Association has produced an article on working with consultants
containing useful information about contracts which could be adapted for
freelance artists. To download the resource, go to
http://www.museumsassociation.org/asset_arena/text/consultantspdf
Where to find freelancers
The GEM freelance database can be downloaded at
http://www.gem.org.uk/flnet2k4.html
engage has information on freelance artists.
www.engage.org
The Scottish Arts Council has information on artists and funding for projects.
www.scottisharts.org.uk
CASE STUDIES
Case Study One – Using artists on short-term contracts
Project:
ST/ART, Tayside Healthcare Arts Trust
Project Leader:
Chris Kelly
The project:
The ST/ART programme is being run over three years with support from the NHS and
offers art opportunities for victims of stroke. The project employs freelance
artists on short-term contracts to deliver the programme.
There are 27 programmes in total over the three years consisting of two sessions
per week. For every two hours contact time, they allow two hours preparation and
planning time. This includes set-up and clear-up, evaluation, meetings and
planning time. So for 32 hours of sessional (contact) time, they allow 64 hours
in total.
They choose to pay them in line with the SAU rates of pay document,at around the
middle band. The rate increases over the three years in accordance with the NHS
incremental increase of 4%. They employ lead artists and also use volunteer
artists for support. They are very conscientious about not taking advantage of
the goodwill of professionals. So they offer these as opportunities for training
and hopefully will use the volunteers as lead artists in the future.
Case Study Two – Organising an Artists’ Team
Organisation:
Dundee City Councils Leisure & Communities Department
Project Leader:
Christine Millar, Arts & Heritage Education Development Officer
The project:
The McManus Galleries has developed creative partnerships between artists and
heritage staff by establishing an “artists’ team” for their rolling programme of
events instead of using one-off or short-term contracts. The team was
established in 2004 to address issues which had arisen from previous projects.
They wanted to deliver a consistent programme and didn’t feel that they could do
this by constantly hiring different artists every time they ran workshops. It
started as a three month project, but has since grown. The artists team meets
with curators, heritage staff and other partners, such as local community
initiatives. This allows the artist to extend their experience of the
facilities, and to become familiar with the collections, staff and ways of
working within the museum. Museum staff also get to know the artists and are
able to share their skills and ideas with them. The artists are encouraged to
being their own ideas to the table. The scheme also offers professional
development for the artists.
This approach helps with the practicalities of hiring artists, which can be a
lengthy process – disclosure, new start forms, termination forms at the end of
the project, etc. It also makes for a more consistent programme – with
consistent levels of activity, delivery, monitoring and evaluation. The artist
can form ongoing relationships with groups. This is particularly useful when
working with groups in the community who like the consistency and familiarity..
The team also offers a support system for all the artists involved.
Case Study Three – Artists in Residence (Collaborative Partnerships)
The Organisation(s):
Lauriston Castle, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, Scottish Arts Council and the
Hope Scott Trust
Artists:
Elaine Allison and Patricia Bray
The project:
Elaine Allison and Patricia Bray have been working together on site specific
projects since 2002. This involves their finding spaces not generally used for
art installations or exhibitions, which evoke in them a strong response.
Increasingly they invite other people with diverse skills to collaborate with
them.
In 2003, they worked on their first collaboration. This was New Strains based in
the Victorian greenhouse at Lauriston Castle in Edinburgh which is run by the
Museums Department of the Council. The Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop, where they
are both members, successfully applied for funding to the Scottish Arts Council.
They also received funding from the Hope Scott Trust for a publication.
Together they created a sculptural installation in the greenhouse, suspending
300 panels of acrylic from the ceiling on nylon line which echoed the
proportions of the windows and were reminiscent of plant markers. On most of the
panels they had engraved the Latin names of plants, which when translated into
English, were girls’ names. They also planted the beds surrounding the
greenhouse with a selection of the plants named on the panels.
An education programme accompanied the work. Other artists were invited to come
in and run workshops relating to the installation. These were for primary and
secondary school children, and for an adult group. Involvement of other artists
for education work brings in a new interpretation of the installations.
There is a symbiotic relationship – the artists benefit from showing in unusual
places and by getting a large new audience, and the locations benefit by having
a new attraction for their usual visitors, and attracting new visitors who come
looking for the artists’ work.
The work was also shown in the Botanic Garden in St Andrews and in Melrose
Abbey.
FURTHER INFORMATION
a-n The Artists Information Company has produced “The Code” the useful
good practice guidelines for artists and organisations.
a-n The Artists Information Company
First Floor
7 - 15 Pink Lane
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 5DW
UK
Tel: 0191 241 8000
Fax: 0191 241 8001
www.a-n.co.uk