The more people there are in the arts, the harder it is for most of them to make a living. Yet, as a new survey shows, it takes a lot to discourage an artist, writes ARMINTA WALLACE

THERE’S A bit of a mystique around the word “artist”. In fact, there’s still an idea at the back of our heads somewhere that if creative people are any good at all, they live in a garret and suffer for their art. At the same time the existence of artists’ tax exemptions and the presence of the publicly funded organisation Aosdána – set up in 1981 to honour and support artists who have made an outstanding contribution to Irish cultural life – may give exactly the opposite impression.

So are Irish artists cold and hungry, or living the life of Riley? Neither, according to a newly published report. Carried out jointly by the arts councils in the Republic and the North, it is based on a survey of the living and working conditions of some 865 respondents, making it the biggest study of its kind since 1979. For the arts councils, the purpose of the survey is to find out how they can best support individual artists. For the rest of us, it offers a fascinating glimpse into the everyday lives of people who work hard to take us out of that everyday space and into the realms of the imagination.

The report defines artists as “people who are active in pursuing a career as artists and view arts work as their profession, even if it isn’t their main source of income, and regardless of current employment status”.

Just over half of the respondents (52 per cent) are women. Some 72 per cent were born in the Republic, 13 per cent in the UK, 4 per cent in the North and 12 per cent outside the UK or Ireland. All areas of the arts are included – architecture, dance, film, literature, visual arts, circus/street art, theatre and music – but not crafts such as ceramics or textiles.

Let’s get that garret out of the way first. By and large, you’re likely to find artists living in private rented accommodation, but not in local authority housing. You’re also likely to find them living in Dublin, unless they’re from the North, in which case they’ll almost certainly be living in Belfast. The figures here are quite striking: 49 per cent of artists in the Republic live in Dublin, as against 27 per cent of the general population; in the North it’s 41 per cent for Belfast, as against 16 per cent of the general population.

In terms of income, the average artist in the Republic earns less than €15,000 a year from their work, and half of them earn €8,000 or less. Men make more than women, especially in the visual arts. Most have to take other jobs to subsidise their arts work and support their families. On the plus side, artists are well placed to do this because most of them have high levels of education, so most of them work as teachers or arts administrators rather than as waiters or shop assistants. On the minus side, the more work you do outside the arts, the less time and energy you have for arts practice, so you don’t get good enough fast enough to earn a living from it. It’s a classic Catch-22.

The report takes a close look at tax exemption, which has been helpful, especially to writers, but which can also be something of a double-edged sword. An artist who applies for the exemption is classed as self-employed, which means he or she can’t claim jobseeker’s benefit.

It also examines the Aosdána cnuas, which is not automatically awarded to all members but is severely means-tested and amounts to little more than someone would get on the dole. Finally, the report works its way through all the benefits available to artists in this country – making it a nifty resource in itself for anyone seeking a bit of a dig-out.

The arts, it concludes, represent a difficult and uncertain way to make a living, with long hours, unstable work patterns, an uncertain future and a difficult work-life balance endemic across all art forms. This, according to the report, is also the case for self-employed workers in general. Interestingly, though, it asks whether those persistent myths we all cherish about “artists” actually have a negative role to play. It quotes a Dutch study, which claims that because of these myths – among them, the notions that working in the arts is “endlessly rewarding”, that artistic talent is God-given, and that success depends purely on talent and commitment – the arts appear unrealistically attractive, causing larger numbers of people to enter art colleges or to work as artists. This, in turn, causes an over-supply in the market, driving everyone’s income down.

The report also investigates the question of whether job satisfaction is more important to artists than money. For those at the lowest income level, this may be something of a moot point. Nevertheless, four out of five of the artists surveyed said that if they were starting their working lives over again, they’d still choose the same line of work. Which is possibly the most extraordinary finding of all.

The Living and Working Conditions of Artists in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is published by An Chomhairle Ealaíon and the Arts Council of Northern Ireland

What the artists say

"Economic booms are quite bad for artists, because they can't afford to live where they should for their careers. Busts are worse."

"Artists have to multi-task, be innovative, creative, be good at administration, make contacts in the art world, present the art well. Only an all-rounder has a chance."

"I would never have children. This I decided when I began my career as an artist. My commitment to my art work is 100 per cent, but I could not do that if I had responsibility for raising children."

"'It's in the blood' is the simplest answer. I couldn't lead a corporate life. But I find as I get older that it is harder to tolerate the working conditions, long hours, etc."

"I could not help it. But I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!"