Ginger Taylor is a Melbourne/Naam based artist and illustrator who has been working full-time for the past seven years, but still finds it difficult to describe exactly what it is. “One day it’s a Playgirl style oil painting, and the next day it’s a hot dog on a hot dog,” she says with a laugh. Whatever exactly, Taylor’s kitschy 1950s Americana-inspired work has garnered attention and steady commercial success, particularly through her online store, gingertaylor.net. She said the Dolly Parton T-shirts she designed in 2017 were selling reliably between 50 and 100 a month, but until last year, order flow had slowed to a trickle and then completely dried up. Ta.
Taylor says there is no doubt that the current cost of living crisis is hitting artists hard. “I don’t apply that to anything else. I think people really need to hold on to their spare change because the cost of living is so high.” Taylor was forced to rethink her business model and recently opened an online store. We have made the heartbreaking decision to close.
She is not the only artist in the small business community who has found it impossible to keep their stores open. “If you go to Facebook Marketplace and type in ‘setting up a small business’ or ‘market stall’ you can get it at a very low price. We see everyone drop out and decide to go in a different direction. If no one spends money on artwork, it’s impossible to continue. ”
Australia’s arts industry has been in serious trouble for the past four years. The pandemic has had an immediate and devastating impact on live events and cultural spaces across the country. An estimated 20,000 job opportunities were canceled within five days of the global pandemic being declared in March 2020. In May 2022, The Guardian reported that creative professionals’ income losses from February 2020 to November 2021 totaled $417.2 million.
Australia’s creative industries have faced huge losses during the pandemic, and the cost of living crisis has further divided the industry. Image: Getty
In addition to a reduction in direct sources of income, artists’ plight was compounded by the loss of temporary work in the hospitality industry and the opportunity to earn income from speaking engagements, residencies, royalties, and sponsorships.
Although 2023 saw some reshaping of our relationship with live events and the arts, the cost of living crisis has only brought yet another wave of misery. Of course, inflation has a far-reaching impact on most Australians. With rents rising at the fastest pace since 2007, at the height of the global financial crisis, and median house prices soaring to nine times average annual income, homeownership has become nothing more than an abstract dream. (worldwide), where three times the average annual income is considered “affordable,” the cost of everyday necessities such as food is rising.
We see everyone drop out and decide to go in a different direction.
– Ginger Taylor
But for the arts, a fragile industry devastated by the pandemic, the pain is endless. Audiences and collectors are worried about spending money on art, and the direct costs of being an artist, such as renting space and purchasing materials, are increasing. Esther Anatolytis, editor of the Australian literary magazine Meanjin and emeritus associate professor at RMIT, says financial pressures are a constant topic of conversation, with many in the community questioning the viability of their artistic practice. He says he has doubts. “Artists are already some of the most precarious workers among us, so this is a double whammy with coronavirus,” she says.
For some, there was a moment of respite. Tattoo artist Levi actually found business booming during the first six months of lockdown. Her clients were those lucky enough to have some income while stuck indoors for weeks, and while they had disposable income, they still couldn’t spend it on travel. “It’s this real sweet spot where we haven’t been able to do so much yet and it feels like a really normal thing to be able to get a tattoo and it’s still safe and if you want to It was a place where you could spend your money if you had one,” Levi says. .
But that was just a moment of hope for her business, and now that hope seems to have all but disappeared. “Inflation started, the cost of living started getting really high, and tattoos are a luxury, so a lot of people couldn’t get tattoos. It was really bad,” she says. A four-day work week quickly dwindles to two or three, and becoming a tattoo artist comes with consistent expenses such as studio rent and materials. “It feels like we go every week,” she says. “I’m trying my best to make my business more sustainable and get more customers. I guess I’m just getting by and hoping it works out. ”
Across every city, suburb, and region, all local governments must step up their efforts to help artists and audiences find each other in the places they call home.
– Esther Anatolytis
There is a cruel irony in how artists have been shaken by these successive crises, considering their own value in helping other artists get through difficult times. Taylor says it’s unfortunate that there isn’t enough support for artists, as she believes art is “the first thing people go to to feel better in difficult times.” Aggregating the devastation the pandemic has wreaked on the arts industry, the federal government states that “the need for the creative experiences and pleasure that participating in the arts brings is critical to people’s ability to withstand the economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic.” It is important.”
Several efforts have been made to ensure the survival of Australia’s arts industry. These include the federal government’s Revive policy, which aims to revitalize the sector by celebrating and supporting artists, providing support to institutions that sustain the arts, and recognizing the arts community. . It is the heart of Australia’s arts and culture and an important site of Indigenous storytelling. Anatolytis said the announcement of the plan last January was a welcome development, but it was still in its early stages. She hopes local leaders will step up similar efforts. “Across every city, suburb and region, all local governments need to step up to help artists and audiences find each other in the places they call home,” she says.
Meanwhile, some artists are discovering new ways to cope with the crisis, from changing their approach to their work to finding new strategies for budgeting and using cheap recycled materials. Instead of a store, Taylor said she is moving to an online subscription model where subscribers can receive content and artwork for a monthly payment. This means that Taylor’s audience can support her work in a more sustained way, and she is focusing on her tight-knit community rather than spending resources chasing a wider audience on social media. You will be able to concentrate.
But overcoming these problems cannot simply be left to artists, since their main task is to continue to create works that “energize, move and inspire us,” says Anatoly. Tis points out. “It’s up to all of us to find these novel solutions and support the artists who support us.”
