Fibres

Practical and economical structures around the arts have very much been rooted in the concept of requiring a patron in order to make a career as a full time artist. Now, most artists rely on grants, galleries, and the need to monetize, hustle, have side gigs, juggle multiple jobs, and, in what little time remains, still count themselves lucky to have the privilege to make art (as though it’s not essential to society). In addition, artists and cultural workers are competing against the homogenizing threats of AI because capitalism is built on profit, not care. Artists find themselves not only caught in the trap of capitalism to meet their basic needs (and discovering that grants are either inaccessible or underfunded), but are also facing increasingly difficult conditions to find paid work in order to keep their lights on. Is this the slippery slope down toward the death of the caregiving role art plays in our society? If artists can’t afford to both exist and make art, there will be consequences that will ripple through the already fragile societal care structures on which our communities rely.