Starving artists? That's not far from the mark

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/article970035.ece
Research report from http://www.hillstrategies.com
[excerpt]
"... The study reports that artists over all are working for near-poverty-level wages, with an average annual earnings in calendar year 2005 of just $22,731, compared with $36,301 for all Canadian workers – a 37-per-cent wage chasm.
In fact, of the 140,000 artists analyzed, 43 per cent earned less than $10,000, whereas in the overall labour force that percentage was 25 per cent. The study notes that the $22,700 average is only 9 per cent higher than the $20,800 that Statistics Canada has identified as the "low-income cutoff" for a single person living in a city with 500,000 people or more.
[...]
What makes the situation even more distressing is that artist earnings have been decreasing since 1990 – a decline likely to intensify over the next two years. While average earnings for the overall labour force rose by almost 10 per cent from 1990 to 2005, artists experienced a slide of 11 per cent – to $22,731 from $25,433 – at the same time as the cultural-sector work force tripled in size. Actors experienced the sharpest decline in average earnings among artists, dropping 34 per cent to about $18,000 in 2005.

According to the Hill study, the poorest-paid Canadian artist category is that of female visual artist, with average earnings in 2005 of $11,421, closely followed by female artisan/craftsperson ($12,307), female musician/singer ($12,449), and female dancer ($12,502).

Indeed, while there are more female artists than males (74,000 versus 66,000) in the country, female artists over all earn much less than their male counterparts: In 2005, a female artist earned on average $19,175, a male $26,714 – a span of close to 30 per cent.

If there is a "labour aristocracy" among artists, it's those 22,370 individuals who identified themselves as "producers/directors/choreographers" in the 2006 census. Males in that category averaged earnings of just under $45,000 while females received $42,000. Francophone artists in Quebec over all are better remunerated than their anglophone equivalents, but not significantly better: According to the survey, they earned an average of $24,520 in 2005, a gap of about 7 per cent.
[...]
Aboriginal artists are especially poor earners – just $15,900 on average, 30-per-cent lower than the average for all artists. ..."

Bertha BRITDOC Documentary fund open [Worldwide]

Documentary journalists can apply for a grant ranging from UK£5,000-50,000 (about US$7,847-US$78,472).

The Bertha BRITDOC Fund for Journalism is an international film fund dedicated to supporting long-form feature documentaries of a journalistic nature.

The fund seeks films that break stories, expose injustice and bring attention to unreported issues and cameras into regions previously unseen. Due to the investigative nature of long-form films, the fund seeks filmmakers with a journalistic background.

The fund supports in-depth research & development, production funding for longitudinal investigations, editorial support for long-form documentary structure, hostile environment training, emergency transportation and legal advice.

Funding is awarded on a rolling basis.

We are looking for films that break the important stories of our time, expose injustice, bring attention to unreported issues and cameras into regions previously unseen.

This new fund recognises such films are often delicate and protracted, making them difficult to fund. With a mission to enable in-depth analysis of issues through long-form investigative filmmaking, we are particularly looking to work with filmmakers with a journalistic background or those who are collaborating with journalists.

It is key that the journalistic intent is embedded within the film itself rather than the film simply being about a journalist or journalistic institution.

Elements we can support:
In-depth research & development
Production funding for longitudinal investigations
Editorial support for long-form documentary structure
Hostile Environment Training
Emergency transportation
Legal Advice during production and post production
Legal advice for complex E&O policies

Other things to bear in mind:

We will be supporting films 60mins+ in length

Grants from £5,000 to £50,000 are available
Funding is awarded on a rolling basis
Funding decisions will be made within 4 weeks of application, unless your project is an urgent response to events
We are unlikely to fully fund a film so it must have international co-financing potential.
We don't fund retrospectively

For more information, click here.
http://britdoc.org/real_funds/documentary_journalism_fund/
Terms and conditions
http://britdoc.org/images/uploads/staff/JournalismFundConditions.pdf
Apply now
http://apply.britdoc.org/apply/new/bbjournalism

The Bertha BRITDOC Documentary Journalism Fund is part of a major new partnership between the Bertha Foundation and the BRITDOC Foundation, which sees the launch of two new funds worth £1.5m over the next three years.
http://www.berthafoundation.org

Call for proposals from artists working in (but not limited to) video, film, interactive art, net art, performance or installation.

Call for Submissions / Le Labo / Generation Dissemination / Toronto, ON / Deadline Date: Friday, February 24, 2012

It's natural for artists to want to make history - for their work to be known and recorded. It's a very different goal for artists to participate in the recording of history in general. The production of documentation (of art and as art) is a practice that intertwines and dialogues with the reportage of current events. When artists use documentation in their practice, they construct an interpretation of their artwork or subject. The choice of medium and distribution method of art documentation then determines its trajectory into the world and into the future. The relation between documentation and its subject is more complicated than ever: an installation is livestreamed, net art leaves a constant digital trace, everyday activities are documented as a performance for video. How might the methods of the documentation and distribution of art affect the recording and framing of history made today? How will today's history be read tomorrow?

Seeking proposals from artists working in (but not limited to) video, film, interactive art, net art, performance or installation. Artists are asked to propose a layered work that involves an "original" gesture, and documentation of or through that gesture. Original gestures may take place anywhere outside of the gallery (ex: site-specific installation, distant geographic location, private performance) and should take place within the dates of the exhibition. Documentation of this gesture will be produced by the artist and mounted in the gallery before the closing of the exhibition. Proposed projects should consider the exhibition format. The use of documentation should be a central aspect of the work. Questions or clarifications are welcome at the contact address below.

This exhibition is curated by Maggie Flynn for Le Labo's curatorial mentorship program under the guidance of Alissa Firth-Eagland. Le Labo (http://www.lelabo.ca) is an artist-run centre with a mandate to produce and promote francophone media art and interdisciplinary projects. This project will accept proposals from both francophone and non-francophone artists. The exhibition will take place in April 2012. Artist fees will be paid and modest travel costs may be accommodated.

Proposals should include:

-CV

-Artist statement (1 paragraph)

-Description of the proposed project (1 page max: Include technical/materials information. Describe site and contexte of the original gesture, the process of documentation.)

-Support material (5 -10 images, links or video/audio of past work)

-Support material list (include context, duration, date)

Please send submissions to:

 contact@maggieflynn.ca

Deadline: Friday February 24, 2012