SPAR Releases Artist Survey Results
Find out what the SPAR Artist survey results reveal about Saskatchewan artists.
SPAR Releases Results of First Provincial Artists Survey
March 3, 2015
For Immediate Release
The average Saskatchewan artist is older and more highly educated than most Saskatchewan workers, but they work as much as 8 hours more per week for an income of just $15,380 from their creative work annually. Only 29% of artists received any direct grant money in the past 2 years, and over half found it necessary to supplement their income through other employment in order to bring their average gross income up to $44,335.
These are some of the findings released today by the Saskatchewan Partnership for Arts Research (SPAR) in its report, Understanding the Arts Ecology of Saskatchewan from the Artist’s Perspective: An Overview of Results from the Artist Survey of 2014. Conducted between April and May of 2014, this was the first comprehensive survey of artists across the spectrum of the arts in the province. The artist survey and a parallel survey of the public conducted at the same time were the first stage in a 4 year study of the provincial arts ecology which seeks to better understand the working conditions of artists and the health and sustainability of the connections and networks they form — which have been identified as essential to creative communities and economies.
Survey results reveal that Saskatchewan artists are exceptionally cross-disciplinary and collaborative in their creative practice forming links not only among themselves and with arts organizations but also with a complex network of educational institutions, businesses and organizations outside the arts in both of the province’s major cities as well as more rural communities and regions.
The Saskatchewan Partnership for Arts Research was established in 2012 by its four partners: The Saskatchewan Arts Alliance, the Saskatchewan Arts Board, SaskCulture and the University of Regina. It is funded by the four partners and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. In its next stage of research it will be undertaking more qualitative consultations with artists, arts organizations and whole communities, and it welcomes expressions of interest in participating in this next phase of research.
To access the full report go to the SPAR website or contact Mary Blackstone, SPAR Director at Mary.Blackstone@uregina.ca (306-584-1805) for further information or to receive a paper copy of the report. A similar report on the Public Survey will follow later this month, and more detailed reports relating to the various topics addressed in this overview will be released on the SPAR website in the next few months.
Mary Blackstone, Director
Saskatchewan Partnership for Arts Research
E-mail: spar@uregina.ca
Phone: 306.337.3165
Fax: 306.585.5530
Saskatchewan Partnership for Arts Research
c/o: Department of Theatre
RC 271
Riddell Centre
University of Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan S4S 0A2
