The rationale for this survey
If, as a society,we are to comprehend how the arts contribute to our lives, it is important to understand
how art is produced and what problems face those who produce it. From a social point of view, as a
community we need to accord artists the respect they deserve as professionals who contribute in so many
ways and with such dedication and skill to advancing our cultural life. From a policy viewpoint, an
understanding of the conditions of professional artistic practice is essential if effective measures for
nurturing the growth of the arts in Australia are to be developed.
A survey of individual practising artists,whereby statistically reliable information is gathered from a
random sample of respondents, is the only workable means for compiling an accurate and comprehensive
picture of the living and working conditions of professional artists in Australia at the present time.
This survey is the fourth in a series carried out over the past 20 years at Macquarie University,with
funding from the Australia Council. The original survey, in 1983,was limited in scope. It was undertaken
to support the findings and recommendations of the Individual Artists’ Inquiry, initiated by the Australia
Council at the time3.A larger and more comprehensive survey was carried out in 19874 and another in
19935.All of these studies have yielded reports widely used by policy-makers, bureaucrats, arts
organisations, artists themselves and the wider community. They have been used to provide factual
information about the economic circumstances of professional artistic practice across all major artforms,
apart from film.This survey, undertaken in 2002, updates and expands the information collected in the
earlier studies.