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‪Working Artists and the Greater Economy‬

File:W.A.G.E. logo.png ‪Working Artists and the Greater Economy
Abbreviation	W.A.G.E.
Formation	2008
Type	Nonprofit Organization
Legal status	501(c)(3)
Focus	(art, activism)
Location	New York, USA
Website	wageforwork.com

Working Artists and the Greater Economy (W.A.G.E.) is a New York-based activist group and non-profit organization whose stated advocacy mission is "currently focused on regulating the payment of artist fees by nonprofit art institutions and establishing a sustainable model for best practices between artists and the institutions that contract their labor."

History

W.A.G.E. was founded in 2008 with the writing of the wo/manifetso by a group of artists, performers, and independent curators in New York City. The group grew out of a series of informal gatherings that evolved into a series of public meetings centering around issues of art and labor.

Early activity focused on education and consciousness raising about economic inequity in the form of videos, open teach-ins, workshops, panel discussions and symposia at museums, galleries, conferences, festivals, schools, summits, and art fairs.

By 2010, W.A.G.E. narrowed its platform to focus on the regulated payment of artist fees by nonprofit arts organizations and museums.

In Fall 2010, W.A.G.E. initiated the 2010 W.A.G.E. Artist Survey to gather data about the payment practices of New York City nonprofits.

In 2010, New Museum curator, Lauren Cornell, invited W.A.G.E. to participate in the 2010-2011 group exhibition, 'Free'. W.A.G.E., identifying not as an art-making collective, but rather as an arts advocacy group, opted to participate by negotiating artist fees on behalf of everyone in the exhibition, marking the event as "the first experimental platform for W.A.G.E. Certification".

In 2011, W.A.G.E. received its 501c3 non-profit status and launched W.A.G.E. Certification, a voluntary certification program that publicly recognizes nonprofit institutions paying artist fees meeting a minimum payment standard.

In March 2011, W.A.G.E. formed a temporary research partnership with Artists Space. This partnership served as a cooperative platform for hosting series of public programs. The first in the series, "Feeling the Shape of the Arts Economy", took place at Artists Space on Janurary 9 2012, and was led by sociologist and economist Hans Abbing, author of Why Are Artists Poor: The Exceptional Economy of the Arts. Other symposia included, “Unionizing and Other Models”, "Institutional Directors", "Statistics / Survey", “Funders Talk”, and “Profit Sharing”. Artists Space also granted W.A.G.E. access to their financial history, thus facilitating the organization's first case study of artist fee payment practices.

In 2012, the results of the W.A.G.E. Artist Survey were released.

In October 2014. W.A.G.E. Certification was developed into a policy and regulatory tool at the 2014 W.A.G.E. Summit. The Summit also marked the conclusion of W.A.G.E.'s Research Partnership with Artists Space.

W.A.G.E. Certification

W.A.G.E. Certification mandates that artists be compensated for their work as "cultural producers" who provide content and services, distinct from programming expenses, production costs, or the purchase of works. Fees are set according to an organization’s total annual operating expenses. Participating institutions could include 501(c)3 museums, advocacy organizations, professional societies, mid-size institutions, private foundations, artist-run initiatives, project spaces, independent websites, and publications.