On June 8th, I took part in the Art Strike at the Art 07 Day in Kendal, Cumbria. I was there with fellow poet, Gill Hands, taking part in Art Strike - where I got to wave banners and encourage people to deface naff art in the name of action. Actually, it had a serious message - namely that artists receive no support for their work, and do a great deal of work for no pay. I have often wondered this - especially when reading governmental brochures about how fantastic this country is artistically - what exactly would happen if all the artists in the UK stopped doing all the stuff they do for no payment? There would be a hell of a lot less grassroots activity, for one. Which would mean a lot less variety and a lot less community access to creative participation. And huge sections of our society under-represented, stripped of a voice...Of course, we wouldn't stop creating, because in the end, as an artist you get faced with a choice: to create or not to create. I for one, always choose creation, because I am an activist. So, big publishing houses do not represent poetry or women's real voices enough...my response is to rally around other wild women and set up our own press. I look at my community and I think: there needs to be a space where women can feel free to create and feel supported in that...so I set one up. That is the way I am, I guess. That is also why last year I worked for an average pay of £1.73 per hour, instead of the minimum wage of £5.52, and why my bank manager does not like me.
I believe in being the change I want to see in the world, as Ghandi once said. But that doesn't mean that I don't feel that this society is poor in its recognition and support of the contribution that art and artists make to our culture, and it doesn't mean that I don't believe that there should be adequate social security support, accessible funding, pension schemes, low cost insurance etc etc etc.
The french are very good at revolution. When the government tried to cut the social security support it offers to working artists (yes, you can sign on there in between paid jobs without having to declare yourself unemployed, and without having to go and clean toilets), all the artists got together and actually went on strike. They closed down the National Opera. They closed down Avignon Festival. They cost the government millions in tourist revenue. They got their complaint listened to and answered.
Whereas on Friday, I was surprised to find that people actually shouted at us "well, who do you expect to pay for it?" and "why should everyone pay for poetry when it is only for the chattering classes?" and so on and so forth...
urm...well, for starters, what about the billions the government spends on war? Trident? Government official expenses? The Olympics?
After all...without art and creativity, the world would be a very, very strange place indeed. Without war, well...I think I could do without mass killing, don't you?
Anyway...that was what I did in the daytime...you can see some of the strike art videos if you follow this link, including the ones The Common People (myself, adam) made...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxy3vwsVrIE
For now... here something to consider next time someone says
"But you do it for the love of it…"
Man kicking ball about on a field:
average annual UK salary
£676,000.
Author writing to enrich our world:
average annual UK salary
£4,000
Poet writing poems that save lives:
average annual UK salary
£… too small to be listed.
I believe in being the change I want to see in the world, as Ghandi once said. But that doesn't mean that I don't feel that this society is poor in its recognition and support of the contribution that art and artists make to our culture, and it doesn't mean that I don't believe that there should be adequate social security support, accessible funding, pension schemes, low cost insurance etc etc etc.
The french are very good at revolution. When the government tried to cut the social security support it offers to working artists (yes, you can sign on there in between paid jobs without having to declare yourself unemployed, and without having to go and clean toilets), all the artists got together and actually went on strike. They closed down the National Opera. They closed down Avignon Festival. They cost the government millions in tourist revenue. They got their complaint listened to and answered.
Whereas on Friday, I was surprised to find that people actually shouted at us "well, who do you expect to pay for it?" and "why should everyone pay for poetry when it is only for the chattering classes?" and so on and so forth...
urm...well, for starters, what about the billions the government spends on war? Trident? Government official expenses? The Olympics?
After all...without art and creativity, the world would be a very, very strange place indeed. Without war, well...I think I could do without mass killing, don't you?
Anyway...that was what I did in the daytime...you can see some of the strike art videos if you follow this link, including the ones The Common People (myself, adam) made...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vxy3vwsVrIE
For now... here something to consider next time someone says
"But you do it for the love of it…"
Man kicking ball about on a field:
average annual UK salary
£676,000.
Author writing to enrich our world:
average annual UK salary
£4,000
Poet writing poems that save lives:
average annual UK salary
£… too small to be listed.
Support the strike!
Vik Bennett 07
No comments:
Post a Comment