Le troisième volume d'une série de publications du collectif Wages For Wages Against, qui agit pour de meilleures conditions de travail dans les arts visuels et contre toutes formes de discrimination
In 2022, the collective Wages for Wages Against applied for the Swiss Art Awards with the ambition of questioning the very model of the prize and its impact on artists. Art competitions are presented as real opportunities for artists, and arise throughout their careers, starting with school—entrance selection procedure, juried evaluations, diplomas and honors distinctions—, all the way to professional recognition—Meret Oppenheim Prize, Marcel Duchamp Prize, Turner Prize, etc. Only a handful of artists are selected for merit-based reward. However, this logic of sorting and validation upholds an entire system that reproduces inequalities and that perpetuates precarity in a milieu that is exclusive, and thus excludes. The institutional practices of communication and selection, as well as the validation of unpaid labor, favor certain artists at the expense of others. In this context, we surveyed the artists who participated, are considering participating, or are not participating in the Swiss Art Awards competition, in the interest of understanding their experiences and sharing their demands. In a broader sense, we wish to rethink the founding principles of artists' support policies and work to build a less competitive art world.
Wages For Wages Against (WFWA,
wfwa.ch) est un collectif militant et une campagne pour la rémunération des artistes en Suisse et ailleurs. Il agit pour une économie alternative et plus juste de l'art et questionne les fondements idéologiques de la situation actuelle. WFWA vise à sensibiliser aux conditions du travail précaires, de l'exploitation et des discriminations dans le domaine de l'art par le biais de débats et d'actions publiques et collectives. Plus largement, le projet agit comme un agent de changement, en sensibilisant le public aux questions de société et d'égalité des chances afin de donner accès à la pratique artistique à des personnes qui ne peuvent se permettre de travailler gratuitement.
