Hill Strategies Research on the Situation of Artists / Arts Education

The latest edition of Arts Research Monitor from Hill Strategies Research includes summaries of four reports providing insights into different aspects of the training and work situations of artists in Quebec, Australia, and the United States.

Click each report title to read more. 

Are Quebec audiovisual artists paid appropriately for their work?
(Le travail des artistes au Québec est-il payé à sa juste valeur?)

Based on a survey of 407 French-language audiovisual artists who are members of six Quebec associations, this report examines whether “precariousness has become a normalized part of working conditions in this sector of culture”.

The longitudinal study of early career artists
A three year tracking study of early career artists looking at the key factors that influence the development of their careers

In 2012, the Australia Council surveyed 310 artists who were within the first five years of their careers in order to examine key elements of their career development as well as differences between grant recipients and non-recipients. “Making financial sacrifices and taking financial risks” were seen as key factors that could allow artists to spend more time on their creative practice.

Artists Report Back
A National Study on the Lives of Art Graduates and Working Artists

Using data from two large-scale American surveys, this report examines the situation of the estimated 1.2 million working artists and 2 million arts graduates over 25 years of age. One of the key findings of the report is that only 200,000 Americans are both arts graduates and working artists (representing 10% of all arts graduates and 16% of all working artists). In other words, “the majority of arts graduates work in non-arts fields”.

Making It Work: The Education and Employment of Recent Arts Graduates
Annual Report 2014

Based on three years of surveys of "over 92,000 arts alumni … from 153 institutions – 140 post-secondary institutions and 13 arts high schools”, this report examines the situation of graduates of arts and arts-related programs. Three key findings from the surveys are that arts-related graduates “have found meaningful employment, are satisfied with their lives, and are pleased that they chose to go to an arts school”.