W.A.G.E. recognizes the organized irresponsibility of the art market and its supporting institutions, and demands an end of the refusal to pay fees for the work we’re asked to provide: preparation, installation, presentation, consultation, exhibition and reproduction.

• Working Artists and the Greater Economy, from www.wageforwork.com

One of the strengths of the electric cooperative program is embedded in the cooperative principle of cooperation among cooperatives.

• Big Rivers Electric Corporation, an electric generation and transmission cooperative in Kentucky, www.bigrivers.com

Conditions in our country are more miserable now for artists than they have been in decades. The vast majority of artists are not able to pay for their lives through the creative work that they do. Only an extremely small percentage of artists are able to make a living from their work. This is part of a long, ongoing decline in the importance placed on supporting the arts in this country, which is ironic because it forces many of us into a position where we are not fully able to participate in the American culture that we are contributing to. Rather, we live our lives and make our work in service and servitude to the market and corporate dictates. This is mirrored by the larger and painful societal trend that is transforming our once-industrial-based economy to one run on information. This ugly dynamic is the reason why so many of us are without jobs or have totally shitty ones. Larger numbers of people are more disenfranchised than ever before and this includes artists. A small number of people in the world benefit from our collective efforts and those who do give themselves bonuses for crashing economies. A new global feudalism is emerging that transcends national boundaries. Here in the United States, we are asked by mainstream media and by our government, to accept a 10 percent national unemployment rate rather than to expect a new economics of inclusion and empowerment. We are just going to have to take what we have been handed. It is what our rulers have decided for us. THE DOMINANT CULTURE is not going to give you a better life, better health care, a living wage or anything else without a fight. You must fight. We all must fight for things to be different. We are seeing a wave of art projects and efforts by many that seek to organize things larger than themselves. In the last decade, there have been increased efforts by people to work collectively, create networks of support and visibility, and to combine their personal research with others through networking. We applaud these efforts and we think that every artist could benefit from being a part of a collaborative group or shared effort. We don’t think that everyone should drop their individual efforts and solely work in collectives. That’s not the way that all of us want to work. However, even if you are making art as an individual in your studio, you can find ways of pooling resources with others to better your situation and theirs. Be creative in how you organize yourself and your peers. If you can only imagine socialism, capitalism, or communism, then you can’t imagine anything. We need collectives and groups that aren’t based on ideology, but on taking care of our needs and desires. A collective of individuals that finds a balance between both. A collective of collectives of collectives. Just Seeds Collectivizing doesn’t mean you all have to make the same work. Artists in the Just Seeds Artist Cooperative live in just about every part of the U.S. and certain parts of Mexico. They retain their distinct artistic voices, but pool their efforts for mutual economic benefits and a sense of shared goals and community. Just Seeds is a decentralized group of artists, writers, print-makers and radical thinkers who use their collaborative grouping, virtual space and distribution network for sharing work and information. They have created an unlimited network of mutual support. Check them out at www.justseeds.org Carrotworkers’ Collective Interns are some of the most exploited laborers in the new creative economy. These folks in London decided to take their precarious position and turn it into a rallying point. Here is what they say of their efforts: The Carrotworkers’ Collective is a London-based group of current or ex-interns, mainly from the arts and creative sectors. We are interested in this Collective’s approach and find their views on the often-precarious situation that interns and volunteer-workers put themselves in, often toward an attempt to network, find a job or learn more about their field of study. They describe themselves as a group that regularly meets to think together around the conditions of free labor in contemporary societies. They are currently undertaking participatory-action research around voluntary work, internship, job placements and compulsory free work in order to understand the impact they have on material conditions of existence, life expectations and sense of self. Contact: carrotworkers@gmail.com or find them at www.carrotworkers.wordpress.com Teaching Artist Union The Teaching Artist Union was organized recently in the New York City area to create support and advocate for the rights and needs of artists who teach as part of their creative practice. In the spirit of collaboration, their mission is continually being refined and redefined by new members. Check them out at www.teachingartistunion.org. What you can do We think that the hardest part of joining a group is just that—making the decision to work with others. There are a lot of options, including forming your own brand-new collective, joining well-established groups and centers to find community or just reaching out to your friends. Don’t struggle alone. Here are some possibilities:

• Start an Artist Run Credit League pool or join the one Incubate started (www.artistruncreditleague.com). It’s an interesting way to save money and support others at the same time
• Amplify your resources and abilities, barter goods and services at OurGoods (www.ourgoods.org). They are only organizing NYC at the moment, but hope to expand to other cities in the near future.
• Connect your artist group or space to others doing the same. Start larger discussions about what you want, what your needs are, what you can accomplish. Groups and Spaces (www.groupsandspaces.net) and Artiscycle (www.artiscycle.net ) are teaming up to make a better resource for people who work in groups and/or run spaces.
• Organize your city, friends, and neighbors and grow food to share with one another like the Future Farmers’ Victory Gardens 2007+ initiative – www.futurefarmers.com/victorygardens
• Get together and talk about the situation you are in. You can do this in a more formal way by instigating a symposium like Sophie Hope did (info at http://www.msdm.org.uk/2009/09/19/making-a-living-artistic-survival-in-2009) or just talk with trusted friends over dinner about how many bills you have outstanding. You may come up with ideas for each other.
• Make your community and network more visible like Three Walls and Green Lantern’s Phonebook guide to artist-run spaces across the U.S. www.three-walls.org/about/bookstore
• Get a handle on the history of artists fighting for better working conditions in Julia Bryan-Wilson’s brand new book Art Workers – Radical Practice in Vietnam War Era, University of California Press, September 2009 – www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10899.ph
• Tell the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Art Institute of Chicago and your own local arts institutions that supporting local artists means more than setting up situations where people are competing for a one-time grant of $200. Getting the public involved in the arts starts with replacing the stodgy and exclusionary top-down corporate-collector-class status quo with an artist-centered, grass roots ethics. In other words, turn the museums over to the people!
• Work Together! Ask for help! Compare notes! Ask the hard questions! Listen with your whole body! Have a conversation with someone where you listen and respond rather than just wait for your turn to speak. Host a potluck! Work against competition! Pick a fight! And fight like a motherfucker!

Do you have some words to share, suggestions to make, or just want to comisserate about your broken economy? Visit www.artandwork.us, the website for a project that we’re doing with Temporary Services and contributions from a host of others. Art Work, the free newspaper we made in conjunction with this project, should be available at a venue/art gallery/university/museum/space near you. Check the website for details. You can always email us directly at salem@temporaryservices.org if you want to share a story or discuss anything we write about. by Brett Bloom & Salem Collo-Julin