Mission statement
Position Unpaid is a collaborative project between two artists: Natasha Vicars and Emma Leach. It is an investigation of internships in the arts; where an internship is typically an unpaid work placement in an arts organisation.
Our starting point on this project is our own experiences of working as interns, each in more than one art organisation, and from hearing the experiences of our peers. There are some symptoms we have noted that we think indicate an unhealthy situation in the art industry. Firstly, that the majority of roles advertised on the Arts Jobs mailing list (a vehicle provided by the Arts Council England) are in fact unpaid, and often appear to be core positions. This suggests that organisations are relying on unpaid workers. Secondly, the existence of positions such as – to give a recent example - a six month, full-time internship in the exhibitions team at commercial gallery Hauser&Wirth which was unpaid. We do not consider this reasonable, as we will go on to discuss.
But we also felt that internships can be genuinely beneficial to both parties, and we have both had positive experiences and gained paid work as a result. So with these thoughts in mind we decided to investigate: what internships are; what the issues are; and what are constructive approaches to address these issues.
First action:
Friends of the Divided Mind, Royal College of Art, 29 March 2009
We recruited five interns through the Arts Jobs mailing list, our only requirement being that they had worked somewhere as an intern before. The response to our advert was amazing – we were really shocked by the level and experience of people wanting to work for us for free, some with up to seven years experience in the arts and qualified to MA level. Working as our interns, their job was to draft a manifesto. We asked them, ‘If there were a Union for Arts Interns, what would it stand for?’ We facilitated the discussion, taking a back seat so that our interns could bring their own experiences in to tailor the manifesto to say what they wanted it to. The resulting discussion was very fruitful. As a group we came up with a statement that expressed a desire for change and made specific recommendations. We published this as a working document on this website and continue to be open to comment and feedback on the points made. We presented this document with one of our interns (elected as a representative of the group) at Friends of the Divided Mind.
The Manifesto:
Presented below or click here
Second action:
Labour Practices, Queen Mary University of London, 19 June 2009
We presented Position Unpaid as part of a panel discussion which responded to a paper about the use of labour in art and internships. It was written by Mary Paterson in conjunction with the Live Art Development Agency and was presented by Andrew Mitchelson.
Our response
The paper referred to internships as ‘the elephant in the room’ which we feel is appropriate. We see this as a situation that isn’t often talked about or queried. The people who do talk about it are the interns themselves, but often all that comes out of these discussions is a lot of grumbling. In Position Unpaid we want to turn this grumbling into positive action.
One thing we contest in the paper is the line that describes internships as ‘universally condemned’. We believe that while many organisations use interns responsibly, some are all too happy to take advantage of the huge, free workforce available. One thing we would like to do with Position Unpaid is to allow interns to make more informed choices about where they work, and to help organisations by providing specific feedback about what interns want.
The paper also raised questions of diversity in the arts, and we have also noted comments from the sector skills council’s Visual Arts Blueprint consultation document: that the current system of internships presents “insurmountable financial barriers” and helps keep the arts middle class. Our group suggested some basic changes to the status quo that, while not revolutionary, would make internships more accessible. These were that internships should not be more than two days a week, allowing the post-holder to remain eligible for Job Seekers Allowance benefits or alternatively to support themselves through paid work on the other days. And secondly, that it is unacceptable for an organisation not to pay basic travel and lunch expenses. These seem very basic requirements! But they are far from standard in this industry at the moment.
In the section of the paper that discusses internships it seemed like another voice came in, speaking from personal experience and making it clear what a burning issue this is for many people. We consider that it is still the case that the experience of a new graduate trying to get work in the arts - whether to support an art practice or as an aim in itself – can be profoundly dispiriting, not to say disempowering. People work unpaid with no clear progression into employment, aware that working in major art establishments the balance of power weighs heavily against the intern. We would like Position Unpaid to be an opportunity for an unrepresented group to work together, organise and make their voices heard.
Second Draft
A DRAFT MANIFESTO
for arts internships II
An intern will learn on the job by doing real work with guidance from staff who are paid to do that role
The employer will ask the intern what they want to get from the position and will agree a schedule of work that addresses this
The employer will be honest about what the job involves so the intern is clear about what to expect before they start work
The employer will respect the intern and his or her time
The internship will be empowering and will raise the intern’s confidence
The intern’s contributions and views will be valued by the employer
There will be a clear distinction between the role of the intern and the roles of voluntary workers – namely, an intern is gaining experience to progress in that field whereas a voluntary worker is donating their time for free to support the organisation
The employer will limit internships to two days per week so that interns can either support themselves with paid work or are eligible to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance
Internships will be for a limited period which is stated before the intern starts work
There will be a maximum length of six months for internships before an employer is obliged to pay the intern
The employer will pay travel and lunch expenses and there will be a standard system for claiming these expenses
The employer will be proactive in seeking the intern’s expenses claims
Also, as many interns are also artists, the employer will be supportive of the intern’s art practice
Some queries
- Duration of internships is important, but how should time restrictions be used so that they protect the intern but don’t limit the job?
- Should there be a limit to the number of internships one person can do?
- What could the side effects of these guidelines be?
- Should interns always be paid if an organisation is making a profit? Should the pay be in proportion to that organisation’s profit? Would even a symbolic amount mean an intern would feel more included in that organisation?
- Should interns have a space to publish a rating after completing an internship which then would inform other interns? Could the Arts Council England website administer this space?
Created by Rob Gallagher, Valeria Iacovelli, Elsa Tierney, Darshana Vora and Raymond Wong.
for arts internships II
An intern will learn on the job by doing real work with guidance from staff who are paid to do that role
The employer will ask the intern what they want to get from the position and will agree a schedule of work that addresses this
The employer will be honest about what the job involves so the intern is clear about what to expect before they start work
The employer will respect the intern and his or her time
The internship will be empowering and will raise the intern’s confidence
The intern’s contributions and views will be valued by the employer
There will be a clear distinction between the role of the intern and the roles of voluntary workers – namely, an intern is gaining experience to progress in that field whereas a voluntary worker is donating their time for free to support the organisation
The employer will limit internships to two days per week so that interns can either support themselves with paid work or are eligible to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance
Internships will be for a limited period which is stated before the intern starts work
There will be a maximum length of six months for internships before an employer is obliged to pay the intern
The employer will pay travel and lunch expenses and there will be a standard system for claiming these expenses
The employer will be proactive in seeking the intern’s expenses claims
Also, as many interns are also artists, the employer will be supportive of the intern’s art practice
Some queries
- Duration of internships is important, but how should time restrictions be used so that they protect the intern but don’t limit the job?
- Should there be a limit to the number of internships one person can do?
- What could the side effects of these guidelines be?
- Should interns always be paid if an organisation is making a profit? Should the pay be in proportion to that organisation’s profit? Would even a symbolic amount mean an intern would feel more included in that organisation?
- Should interns have a space to publish a rating after completing an internship which then would inform other interns? Could the Arts Council England website administer this space?
Created by Rob Gallagher, Valeria Iacovelli, Elsa Tierney, Darshana Vora and Raymond Wong.
A DRAFT MANIFESTO
for arts internships
The employer will respect the intern and his or her time
The internship will be empowering and will raise the intern’s confidence
The intern’s contributions and views will be valued by the employer
An intern will learn on the job by doing real work with guidance from staff who are paid to do that role
The employer will ask the intern what they want to get from the position and will agree a schedule of work that addresses this
The employer will be honest about what the job involves so the intern is clear about what to expect before they start work
There will be a clear distinction between the role of the intern and the roles of voluntary workers – namely, an intern is gaining experience to progress in that field whereas a voluntary worker is donating their time for free to support the organisation
The employer will limit internships to two days per week so that interns can either support themselves with paid work or are eligible to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance
Internships will be for a limited period which is stated before the intern starts work
There will be a maximum length of six months for internships before an employer is obliged to pay them
The employer will pay travel and lunch expenses and there will be a standard system for claiming these expenses
The employer will be proactive in seeking the intern’s expenses claims
The employer will support the intern’s art practice, for example if an intern is invigilating the employer will allow them to read or use the internet during their shift
Some queries
- Duration of internships is important, but how should time restrictions be used so that they protect the intern but don’t limit the job?
- What could the side effects of these guidelines be?
- Should interns always be paid if an organisation is making a profit? Should the pay be commensurate to the organisation’s profit, even if this amount is so small it is just symbolic?
- Should interns have a space to publish a rating after completing an internship which would inform other interns?
- Should there be a limit to the number of internships one person can do?
Created by Rob Gallagher, Valeria Iacovelli, Elsa Tierney, Darshana Vora and Raymond Wong.
for arts internships
The employer will respect the intern and his or her time
The internship will be empowering and will raise the intern’s confidence
The intern’s contributions and views will be valued by the employer
An intern will learn on the job by doing real work with guidance from staff who are paid to do that role
The employer will ask the intern what they want to get from the position and will agree a schedule of work that addresses this
The employer will be honest about what the job involves so the intern is clear about what to expect before they start work
There will be a clear distinction between the role of the intern and the roles of voluntary workers – namely, an intern is gaining experience to progress in that field whereas a voluntary worker is donating their time for free to support the organisation
The employer will limit internships to two days per week so that interns can either support themselves with paid work or are eligible to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance
Internships will be for a limited period which is stated before the intern starts work
There will be a maximum length of six months for internships before an employer is obliged to pay them
The employer will pay travel and lunch expenses and there will be a standard system for claiming these expenses
The employer will be proactive in seeking the intern’s expenses claims
The employer will support the intern’s art practice, for example if an intern is invigilating the employer will allow them to read or use the internet during their shift
Some queries
- Duration of internships is important, but how should time restrictions be used so that they protect the intern but don’t limit the job?
- What could the side effects of these guidelines be?
- Should interns always be paid if an organisation is making a profit? Should the pay be commensurate to the organisation’s profit, even if this amount is so small it is just symbolic?
- Should interns have a space to publish a rating after completing an internship which would inform other interns?
- Should there be a limit to the number of internships one person can do?
Created by Rob Gallagher, Valeria Iacovelli, Elsa Tierney, Darshana Vora and Raymond Wong.
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