The newly established Independent Artists’ Coalition of Baltimore recently circulated an open letter addressing the establishment of community standards for compensation of independent artists working in all disciplines and media. This letter, signed by some of Baltimore’s leading artists, calls for the establishment of communication standards between artists and organizations. The focus is primarily on transparency regarding steps of the payment process and payment schedule, goals for timely payment, expected minimum rates for the contracting of artists, limits on late payment including the application of late fees, standards of transparency and timely delivery of compensation for work in small venues, and standard minimum rates for artists working with academic institutions on an ongoing basis.

The Independent Artists’ Coalition of Baltimore calls on organizations, venues, and institutions involved in the contracting of artists to recognize and abide by a set of standard practices which are requested by the community of local artists. We recognize the responsibility of individual artists to establish the specifics of their contracts, including scope of creative work, retention of rights to their work as stated, compensation for travel expenses and preparation time, communication of their individual rates based upon experience and other factors, and timely delivery of requested documents. We also affirm that independent artists are deserving of fair treatment in contracted work, regardless of their ability to negotiate for themselves as a “business”. With the agreement to a set of community standards, we seek to provide a measure of protection for all local artists, and a more streamlined process of interaction for organizations seeking to hire them for contracted work.

As community standards continue to evolve, we recognize the potential benefit for artists to engage in collective bargaining to ensure correct and fair practices. We also recognize that artists may consent to take on work with small organizations and initiatives that are focused on marginal artistic spaces, lacking funding, or are largely run by volunteers. In these situations, rates for artists may be significantly different than in contracted work for major institutions. In the case of performing artist compensation standards, the minimum rate for an individual artist to perform in a group may have a cap on the size of a group to which this applies, or only apply to artists who are principal performers. In the infinite variability of resources that different organizations contracting with artists may have, the key elements are transparency and informed consent.

We recognize the importance of artists as valuable resources of the community, enriching the lives of members of the community, actively participating in and creating culture of the community, and generating investments that benefit the local economy. Through the arts, new spaces of interaction are created that bring people together across socio-economic divisions. The work of our artists creates much-needed shifts of perspective, building empathy and connection among people, and challenging us to deepen our understanding of ourselves and our environment. We ally ourselves with the cause of art as a healing force in our city.

We ally ourselves with the cause of fairness and respect in the contracting of artists, and recognize the need for a set of community standards. We intend to meet these standards, and recognize the need for accountability. We will do our part to work toward basic protections and income stability for the artists that we engage in professional work.