UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist The General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, meeting in Belgrade from 23 September to 28 October 1980 at its twenty-first session

Introduction presented by Sophia Sanan at the African Arts Institute’s CPRG meeting- 24 July 2014

7 August CPRG• Welcome and apologies• Presentations/ Comments from previous meeting• Implications for Governments that follow from ‘Status of the

Artist’• What have governments done?• Questions to consider.

Who is the artist, what is his/ her status in society?• 1. `Artist' is taken to mean any person who creates or gives creative

expression to, or re-creates works of art, who considers his artistic creation to be an essential part of his life, who contributes in this way to the development of art and culture and who is or asks to be recognized as an artist, whether or not he is bound by any relations of employment or association.

• 2. The world `status' signifies, on the one, hand, the regard accorded to artists, defined as above, in a society, on the basis of the importance attributed to the part they are called upon to play therein and, on the other hand, recognition of the liberties and rights, including moral, economic and social rights, with particular reference to income and social security, which artists should enjoy.

Do these definitions hold true today- have there been changes in the nature of what can be considered art and who can be considered an artist?Creative Industries?

Rationale for creating this document/ interventionThe work of artists is at the heart of cultural, social and economic development and the “creative sector”, serving both public arts organizations and private cultural and media industries, and accounting for a considerable share of the labor force.

However authors, performers and professional artists frequently lack a stable income to sustain themselves and their creative work, as well as related social protections such as insurance; their situation vis-à-vis income, taxes, health care, insurance or pension is often compromised.

What does kind of document is this, and what can it do?• To provide the socio-economic safeguards to which artists

are entitled as people actively engaged in the labor force.

• The Status of the Artist is a standard setting instrument.

• It is not legally binding.

• Rather, it recommends that national authorities, institutions and organizations, implement specific measures and take legislative steps to improve the status of the artist and foster the participation of artists in contributing to cultural life and development.

What are the key recommendations made by the document?

Initiatives to improve social and economic conditions for artists by:•Including employment security, appropriate tax action models, healthcare, pensions, mobility schemes, education/capacity building and,•Protecting of moral and material rights in their works.

How should governments take these recommendations forward?

1. Labour laws and Social SecurityExtend legal protection concerning work and employment conditions so that they are at internationally recognized standards – for example to ensure access to social security schemes and health insurance, or attain minimum wage, especially when artists are self employed.Ensure through appropriate legislative means that artists have the freedom and the right to establish trade unions and professional organizations.2. TaxationTake into account in their taxation system the particular conditions or artists’ work and activity. Some countries, for example, provide self-employed artists with tax exemptions, or deductions from the sale of artistic works.

3. Freedom of MovementPromote the free international movement of artists and encourage international exchange by artists. Bilateral and multilateral agreements can facilitate this, for example through special visa status or establishing exchange programmes and touring.

4. Education and Training in the ArtsProvide an education designed to nurture artistic talent and vocation.

How should governments take these recommendations forward?

How have governments taken these recommendations forward since 1980?In 2010 UNESCO sent to all Member States a comprehensive questionnaire to gather information regarding actions taken in each country specific to the 1980 Recommendation. Fifty-five countries replied, and an analysis and summary of this information was presented to the 36th session of the UNESCO General Conference in October 2011.

The questionnaire was designed to collect basic information on legislation, international standards and national laws; and social welfare systems; freedom of association and trade union rights; tax status and taxation; and the international mobility of artists. The nature of the replies varied considerably, from a cursory overview to a detailed analysis of relevant legislation and public policy measures.

• 2003- the World Observatory on the Social Status of the Artist was launched online and the results of the questionnaire were made available through this platform in English, French and Spanish.

• 2007- the General Conference considered that, of the Organization’s 31 recommendations, this one should be monitored as a matter of priority . In this context, the questionnaire was resent to UNESCO Member States in 2008.

• 2014: In total, 45 States have responded to the questionnaire. The nature of the responses provided varies considerably, from a cursory overview to a detailed analysis of relevant legislation and public policy measures. There is a geographical imbalance in the response rate; 45% are from countries located in Europe and North America.

Legislative frameworks

The results of the questionnaire demonstrate that few Member States have fully adopted the Recommendation into national law. Those Member States that have done so have tailored the focus of their legislation on a specific issue addressed by the Recommendation.

Employment, working and living conditions• In some countries, self-employed performers and other

artists are presumed to be in an employment situation or have quasi-employed status in order to have access to social security schemes (Belgium, Burkina Faso, France, Germany).

• In other countries, support is provided to artists whose income falls below the minimum wage (Luxembourg, Netherlands).

Professional representation and the rights of artists’ associations• In many parts of Asia, the rights of all worker

organizations are beginning to change with the effects of economic globalization and associations representing artists are starting to emerge throughout the region

• In most of Latin America, artists’ trade unions and professional associations are considered to be the same as all other worker organizations, and union agreements are more widespread.

Social security, health insurance and retirement benefits• Different constellations of cooperation between employers,

employees, the government and private enterprises have been formed in some countries to provide social insurance packages for self-employed artists.

• Several Member States from all regions of the world reported that they provide pension schemes for artists (e.g. Argentina, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Egypt, Switzerland) or special medical insurance programmes and/or access to medical services to artists (Pakistan through the Artists Relief Fund of the Ministry of Culture, Morocco and Tunisia).

• In a number of countries, artists have organized their own social insurance plans through their unions and associations of artists, or other non-profit societies.

Taxation

• Tax exemptions have been reported on by several Member States on income earned from copyright or neighbouring rights royalties (Canada, Montenegro) or arts grants (Australia, Denmark, Finland, Kenya, Latvia, Russian Federation and United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).

• Tax deductions are available from the sale of artistic works in several countries.

Transnational mobility

• A number of Member States responding to the questionnaire have indicated that bilateral cultural exchange programmes that include the movement of artists are accompanied by funding programs to assist, for example, touring initiatives.

Conclusion• Further work is required to implement the Recommendation

on the Status of the Artist fully as a means to ensure that the legal, social and economic conditions necessary for the exercise of artist’s creative work are provided.

• Calls have been made to encourage the development of structures and agencies that can offer management services and provide advice to artists on issues related to contracts, income tax, insurance, copyright, social security, project administration, etc.

•Governments are urged to create and sustain not only a climate encouraging freedom of artistic expression, but also the material conditions facilitating the release of this creative talent. •Indeed, the Recommendation specifically affirms “the need to improve the social security, labour and tax conditions of the artist, whether employed or self-employed, taking into account the contribution to cultural development which the artist makes”.

What kind of state would this require?

Some questions that emerge:• Can other Human Rights- such as right to health care, right to

education, right to life etc take priority over cultural rights?• A democratic state, that protects Human Rights, and that

practices some form of social welfare. What about states that are excluded from this definition? What is the relationship between state and society that Human Rights discourses pre-suppose?

• Can the wellbeing of the artist in society be protected outside of Human Rights discourses?

• What are other ways of articulating common values and guiding principles?

• Can there be a just form of governance?

• How can our government take this document forward?• Should our government be the ones taking this

forward?• How can the conditions of the artist and the

possibilities for increased participation in the arts be realised?• Please refer to practical examples.

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