Artist Fees and Venue Costs
After reading the Fair Pay: Rates of Pay Signposting Guide provided by my tutor in the tutorial, I calculated the expenses for my selected artworks[1]. I referenced the Recommended Rates of Pay on the Scottish Artists Union website to determine daily artist fees for varying work durations[2]. I further refined my exhibition schedule and estimated the necessary working hours for each artist involved in my project.
My overall installation time should be limited to five days, while the exhibition duration should be approximately ten days. For Yuhang Liu, I require him to bring his artwork to the venue for assembly and planning. Therefore, I will pay him approximately five days’ worth of wages. Liu is an artist with over five years of professional experience who currently teaches at Guangxi Arts University. Thus, I need to pay £359.20 × 5 = £1,796.00. The other three are 2021 graduates from Edinburgh College of Art, some of whom have five years of professional experience. For example, Kate Saldanha is a landscape architect with prior work experience[3]. For Zheng and Dobbs, I could not find any information regarding their involvement in art creation or architecture-related work. Therefore, I propose calculating their wages based on graduate rates. This brings the total artist fees to £1,796.00 + £179.60 + £117.20 + £117.20 = £2,210.00.
I have emailed Summerhall to inquire about the financial aspects of booking the Science Gallery venue and am awaiting their response. By reviewing the Festival Information Pack 2024, Summerhall pricing for cinema venues and performing the necessary calculations[4], I estimate that renting a space comparable in size to the Science Gallery for a 24-day arts festival would cost approximately £4,000. I anticipate the cost for a ten-day booking would be around £1,600.
[1] Creative Scotland, Fair Pay: Rates of Pay Signposting Guide (Edinburgh: Creative Scotland, August 2022), 3.
[2] Recommended Rates of Pay (RRoP) | Scottish Artist Union
Recommended Sessional Rates
Day rates are based on an 8-hour day, minimum ‘call’ is for a 4-hour session. Additional hours over 8-hours should be at a minimum of the appropriate hourly rate (see above).
New Graduate Artist
£234.40 p/day (£117.20 p/ ½ day)
3+ Years' Experience
£290.40 p/day (£145.20 p/ ½ day)
5+ Years' Experience
£359.20 p/day (£179.60 p/ ½ day)
The variations in rates relate to qualifications/experience, which are defined by ‘years as a working artist’, and would be evidenced by a professional CV, indicating the artist’s art world track record and/or unique attributes.
[3] Kate Saldanha | LinkedIn
[4] Summerhall Arts, Summerhall Festival Information Pack 2024 (Edinburgh: Summerhall, 2024), 7–8, https://www.summerhall.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Summerhall-Festival-Information-Pack-2024.pdf
