7 minute read
Artiq Annual Volume 2
by artiqannual
For too long, the art world has been for the few, not the many. Henry Dowson speaks to three trailblazing organisations that are kicking down doors and paving the way for future talent.
Entering the world of art can be daunting, with many doors needing to be opened or even kicked in. These often require a complex set of scholarly qualifications, financial backing, or indeed connections inside the industry itself. But these old doors are starting to rust. Individuals and institutions are taking this opportunity to deconstruct the barriers of entry from the inside, wanting to open the sector to exciting, talented, young people. In particular, the importance of paid, sustainable internships is key in dismantling this rigid and restricting structure. Young people propel business and futures forward with their own potential, which, in turn, is the driving force behind modernity and positive change. It seems vital for companies to hire paid interns and welcome a new generation of professionals into the industry with open arms, to ensure the arts sector becomes a thriving and accessible industry.
However, the current climate in the arts sector boasts some fairly staggering statistics: a pre-pandemic report by The Sutton Trust highlighted that almost 90% of internships in the arts were unpaid (1), and 77% of people working the creative sector have at some point in their career worked for free (2). These numbers are indicators of the socio-economic barriers that act as a deadbolt lock on the door to creative careers. The harsh reality of these statistics is founded in radical budget cuts, both from within and outside of the cultural sector, which have been demanded by the austerity policies of the last 12 years, compounded by the “erosion of state support in the preceding decade” under successive neoliberal governments (3). At large, institutions and arts organisations simply do not have the funds to invest into artistic futures.
Instead, they compensate by offering the opportunity and experience, instead of pay. One organisation working as an intermediary, attempting to bridge the gap and provide paid internships with opportunities for career progression, is 10,000 Interns Foundation. Championing underrepresented talent and promoting equity of opportunity, they run two programmes to help meet this mission: the 10,000 Black Interns programme and the 10,000 Able Interns programme. Both programmes partner with businesses to offer students and graduates paid internship opportunities across a range of industries, including the creative industry.
The Foundation’s Chief Impact Officer, Nana Campbell, explains: “Talent is everywhere, but opportunity is not, and the Foundation is driven to democratise the early careers space to ensure that a variety of perspectives and voices are given a platform and that the communities it works with can access spaces they may have traditionally been excluded from.” Alexandra Vanburen Callender, an intern and now part-time employee at Artiq, shared some words about her experience saying, “this opportunity, and observing the different roles in the business provided me with real examples of the many ways my personal interest in art could be turned into a career”.
Democratising access to opportunity stands as a crucial factor in diversifying and elevating the sector to new heights. It is imperative to address the socio-economic and class barriers that alienate young people from entering the sector. A new, sustainable, and viable path must be forged for newcomers to tread, which in turn will set out to alleviate concerns. Notably, paid internships have been linked to social mobility, with 74% of individuals from working class households demonstrating signs of positive social mobility after completing a paid internship.
An increasing number of institutions are actively working to dismantle these barriers, opening the field to young professionals, and offering new, exciting pathways into the industry, which is refuelling the industry with fresh and innovative ideas.
New Curators offers a twelve-month fully paid curatorial training programme in London. It is designed for individuals from lower socioeconomic backgrounds from around the world to gain a foothold in a profession that they would not necessarily have access to, but is somewhere that would improve greatly should they be better represented in it.
Yet, the New Curators initiative goes further than this. In addition to providing a foot in the door to the art world, they are also creating space for these individuals to flourish. Moreover, their carefully constructed programme also sees participants meet influential art world workers whose vision aligns with the organisation. In doing so, the young curators not only have a way into the sector, but can firmly grasp what is needed to succeed, whilst making the connections along the way, which ultimately ‘makes the journey into curation more equitable’ and feeds knowledge and experience back into the arts economy.
There are clear benefits to both sides of having sustainable and paid internships that seek to be equal and accessible for all. In fact, unpaid internships neither improve job prospects nor lead to higher pay in the future, rather the opposite. Unpaid internships can devalue the labour force and increase the gap between the rich and the poor; the negative consequences of unpaid internships on the interns needs no further clarification.
However, paid internships can serve as a stepping stone, not a trapdoor, for emerging professionals and, for businesses, can provide a unique opportunity to discover and foster future talent whilst having a significant impact on the retention of interns as valuable future employees.
Similarly to New Curators, there are several innovative internship programmes being forged outside of London. Launched in 2020, the Frieze x Deutchebank Emerging Curators Fellowship was initiated as a paid placement for UK-based Black and People of Colour (POC) emerging curators. The aim of the fellowship is to address the disparities in the sector, offering spaces at institutions such as Chisenhale Gallery, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, The V&A Museum, and The Whitworth, and is still running today with more institutions signing up. The fellowship was initially set up by the artists themselves, with established artists such as Yinka Shonibare, John Akomfrah and Ibrahim Mahama selling editions to raise funds for the wages of the fellows, which clearly displays the insistence from practitioners inside the art world wanting change. Kinnari Saraiya, a recipient of the fellowship, spent her time at Baltic, during which she was afforded the time and trust of the organisation to develop crucial moments in the public programming of the institution whilst “being able to own a creative output, and show it on already established platform.”
The importance of providing a space for people to authentically express their own ideas with their voice is central to the Emerging Curators Fellowship, empowering not only the fellows, but the institutions as well. Kinnari has now completed her fellowship, and holds the position of Assistant Curator at Baltic, providing curatorial knowledge and insight into the production of their cultural programming, proving just how important these opportunities are. Having fresh perspectives from a myriad of backgrounds is fundamental for a healthy art scene. As an industry, we must provide authentic, sustainable and welcoming opportunities for young professionals entering the industry. Whilst dismantling the door that favours some people over others, the industry must also facilitate time and space for young people to develop their skills and grow into professionals who can give back to individual organisations and the industry at large. The benefits from these initiatives are already being felt from all sides, whilst the lasting impact will help to strengthen the sector and empower Britain’s creative youth for decades to come.
Henry Dowson, Curator at Artiq
1. Cullinane, Carl & Rebecca Montacute, 'Pay As You Go? Internship pay, quality and access in the graduate jobs market', The Sutton Trust, Nov(2018), p.22.
2. Creative Industries Council (2022) Growth Of UK Design Twice As Fast As Rest Of Economy. Available at: https://www.thecreativeindustries. co.uk/site-content/growth-of-uk-design-twice-asfast-as-rest-of-economy
3. Industria (2023) Structurally F–cked An inquiry into artists’ pay and conditions in the public sector in response to the Artist Leaks data. London: a-n The Artists Information Company.
