Majority of artists in South West earn less than £10,000

Most visual artists living in the South West of England earn less than £10,000 a year from their artistic work, research by sector support organisation Visual Arts South West (VASW) has found.

A survey of 318 visual artists from across the region found that 35% made under £5,000, with 20% earning between £5,000 and £10,000.

According to the Office of National Statistics, the median average salary for full-time workers in the UK in 2023 was £34,963, up from  £31,285 in 2021. Over the last two years, 36% of VASW's survey respondents reported that their visual arts income has increased, while 30% said it had stayed the same and 29% said it had decreased.

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The findings also showed that fewer than half (42%) of respondents had been commissioned to make new work in the past year. Of those who had, a third thought that the fees were fair, but the majority felt they weren't paid enough and that the money only covered production costs. 

Most also commented that there were no fee guidelines for commission remuneration, and they had to negotiate for their own fees.

When discussing obstacles to a career in visual arts, the most common barrier cited was a lack of finance or poor financial return on creating work. Several artists also mentioned a lack of success with funding applications and opportunities.

Funding for visual arts

Just over a fifth of respondents said they had received funding in the last year⁠, with 48% of visual arts grants in the region coming from trusts and foundations⁠, 12% from local authorities⁠ , and 11% from Arts Council England (ACE).

Analysing ACE funding from March to December 2023 through National Lottery Project Grants, VASW found that 50 visual arts grants amounting to £1.23m had been made to recipients in the South West. This represented 15% of the total number of visual arts grants across the country, 11% of the total funding for visual arts, and the lowest regional investment in visual arts from ACE.

The average grant was £25,000, with six applications over £30,000. In London, £3.3m was awarded for visual arts with an average grant of £46,000 and 12 applications over £30,000. 

Despite the financial challenges, the area showed a strong pull for those working in the visual arts. Almost 60% of respondents had studied at a South West art school, and 38% stated that they had moved to the area specifically to be involved in visual arts in the region.

VASW said the findings highlight barriers to inclusion and show that there is "much work to be done to support artists and artworkers and make careers sustainable". 

"This information will inform our programme and work with the Contemporary Visual Arts Network (CVAN), who advocate for policy change at a national level," the report states.

It adds that the organisation has created the Strengthening Your Funding Applications resource, which gives examples to organisations and individual artists of how the report can be used to strengthen their funding bids and applications.