W.A.G.E. Releases Program on Artistic Labor

W.A.G.E. has just launched W.A.G.E. Certification, a paradigm-shifting model for the remuneration of artistic labor.

According to W.A.G.E.,

Certification is a program that publicly recognizes non-profit arts organizations that demonstrate a history of, and commitment to, voluntarily paying artist fees—it is also the first of its kind in the U.S. that establishes a sector-wide minimum standard for compensation, as well as a clear set of guidelines and standards for the conditions under which artistic labor is contracted.

W.A.G.E. worked in dialog with artists, arts organizations, writers, sociologists, labor historians, and critical theorists over the past four years to produce a scalable model that can be applied across the non-profit arts economy in all its variation: from small artist-run spaces struggling to support a single employee to large institutions with hundreds of full-time workers and top salaries in the seven figures.

On a quick glance, the analytical structure and fees seem to be quite reasonable. Good going!