B.C. artists call for better compensation for city-commissioned work

Chase Gray wants to get rid of the "starving artist" stereotype, and he's calling on municipalities to help.

This year is the City of Chilliwack's 150th anniversary, and to celebrate its milestone birthday the city is searching for artists to submit designs for a street banner project. Successful artists will receive $300 for their work. 

"They should know better," said Gray.

Gray is a Musqueam illustrator and artist from Chilliwack, now living in Vancouver, and he says the low fee is unfair and exploitative. He says events like Chilliwack's anniversary require a lot of planning, but the commissioned art seems to be an afterthought. 

"They're putting more money into production than they are even thinking of paying an artist for a fee."

The City of Chilliwack says it's following the usual protocols for commissioning art.

"The artist call-out process was agreed upon by the Public Art Advisory Committee, but staff will bring the feedback received during this process back to the committee for consideration for future callouts," it said in a statement. 

Gray says that change needs to happen now. 

"When a municipality puts out a call to artists, it just shows what the city thinks of artists and how they value their community of artists."

This situation is not unique to Chilliwack.

The City of Langley put out a call for a public mural in March that is also receiving backlash. The budget for the project is $2,000 for paint and art supplies and $1,000 for the artist fee. 

Gray has done projects like these and says the compensation is not nearly enough for the amount of physical and creative work that goes into it.  

"You're outside for about 10 hours a day doing a mural, and it could take three to five days just painting it," he said. That doesn't take into account the preparation required, like coming up with a concept and collecting materials.

Kim Hilton is the director of Recreation, Culture & Community Services with the City of Langley and says that the city's priority is offering local artists opportunities to get their work into public places. 

"People who are more established may pass on the opportunity because it may not offer the compensation they are looking for," she said. 

Sandeep Johal, a multidisciplinary artist who has created murals for multiple cities in the Lower Mainland, says the attitude reflects "an overall problem in society where artists are undervalued."

She says that a standardized system of paying artists could solve this problem. Now, artists often have to justify the amount they charge. Less established artists have a "scarcity mindset," says Johal, and the concern over getting enough work sometimes causes them to work for less than they can afford to boost their careers. 

"[Exposure] can be worth something," added Gray. "But it sets a standard, and it continues to [...] perpetuate this starving artist thing." 

Johal wants non-artists to appreciate art for the hard work that it is.

"Oftentimes, you just see the result. You don't see the process. We should get paid for that work."