Gabrielle de Vietri asks the Victorian Government to implement a trial for an artists’ living wage.
Transcript: Art is fundamental to our society. It brings us joy, deep thinking, connection with one another and a deep understanding of the world we live in. If that does not do it for you, the arts contribute 7Â per cent of our economy here in Victoria and 9Â per cent of our workforce. Yet the arts are chronically underfunded. There is not one arts organisation in my electorate that is not struggling with funding uncertainty, and I hear from artists who are leaving the sector in droves because it is just too hard to make ends meet.
This government has done good work to support the arts during devastating federal cuts and during the pandemic, but independent artists, who are the bedrock of our culture, have been overlooked, have been made to compete against each other and miss out on paying themselves because project-based grants just do not stretch far enough.
We know that Helen Garner wrote Monkey Grip while on the dole. Today that would be impossible. While my colleagues at a federal level are pushing to raise the rate of income support for everyone and abolish mutual obligations, we propose a groundbreaking trial to introduce a living wage for artists. I hope that the Minister for Creative Industries and this progressive government will consider this to support artists with the stability that they need to create the important work of our time.
Sign the petition for an artists’ living wage trial.
