Fair treatment of freelance artists during the COVID-19 crisis

Fair treatment of freelance artists during the COVID-19 crisis

Open Letter to the international arts community and the different local funding bodies and governments to spread the financial burden more evenly and to protect those who are in the most vulnerable position, that is the freelance artists.
The impact of the current crisis is becoming clearer with every hour, with the exception of how long it may last. As is the realization that it will be the most vulnerable, who will suffer first and most. In the case of the arts community, these will be the individual, self-employed, freelance artists. In the past days in countries such as Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, the UK, Ireland and Canada valuable initiatives have already been taken, but there is more to be done.
We have an important proposal to add to this, for which we would like to create a large, international consensus so that it is not only left to individual or local initiatives.
We don’t believe it should be the responsibility of the individuals who have had an engagement canceled to look for compensation. Since this would only imply more work, a lot of administration and probably long waiting times to receive it. This added labor and uncertainty will only put more stress and pressure on those who are already vulnerable.
Instead of a trickle-down effect that puts the burden on the most vulnerable individuals, the burden should be passed on up the economic ladder to those who have the resources to carry it. The governments and funding bodies must allow the venues and companies to cancel or postpone existing events or projects without asking for their funding back. The venues and festivals must pay the companies and artists they invited. The companies must pay the individual artists they employ, also when only a freelance basis.
We thus propose that all funded institutions and projects pay out all the engagements they have committed to (in written or unwritten form) within the original time frame agreed.
A similar policy of taking care of the most vulnerable, that is the freelance workers must be followed in arts education, which is for many artists an important, secondary source of income. The academic institutions have both the means and institutional security to commit to the engagements they made.
Exceptions will always be possible as in the case of freelance artists engaging their peers or for organizations or projects whose own existence would be threatened. Nobody should make their own situation more precarious when supporting each other. But these exceptions need to be fairly negotiated with everyone involved. If projects are postponed, they will also have to be renegotiated again and thus do not simply compensate for the loss of income in the present but also for future work and time to be spent.
We believe this proposal will save of a lot of unnecessary work and money since it will avoid new, complex administrative procedures as the money that will be distributed in this way was already allocated in the first place.
We ask for the official bodies to implement and facilitate this proposal and for all organizations, big or small to apply it in their own organizations. We are happy to note that many organizations have already committed to this publicly in the past days.
We also realize this proposal only deals with existing engagements and if this crisis lasts long enough so that no new engagements can be made, a secondary, more fundamental support system, such as for instance the proposal for a basic income which could also be applied to other sectors, need to be put in place. However, we believe this proposal would solve a lot of the most urgent problems for many people and it would buy everyone the necessary time to create larger and more durable support systems of solidarity. As such this letter is not directed against anyone, but rather is an appeal that everyone takes their responsibility within their resources in order to spread the financial burden of this crisis, instead of laying it down with the people at the bottom of the economic system. As an arts community, we should be exemplary in this.
On March 22, 2020, already more than 800 people signed this letter on-line.
The names on the list mentioned below are just a sample of them to show their diversity, also geographically, including at the moment more than 30 countries, world-wide.
Michaël Abbet, Director at Petithéâtre de Sion, Switzerland
Fabienne Abramovich, Author, Cineaste, Choreographer, Geneva, Switzerland
Jean Abreu, Choreographer, London, UK
Peter Aerts, Administrator, aifoon, Gent, Belgium
Jaskaran Anand, Performance maker, Pedagogue, Linz, Austria
Luke Baio, Dancer, performer, Vienna, Austria
Esther Baio, Dancer, performer, Vienna, Austria
Isabelle Barth, Actress, Manheim, Germany
Daniel Abreu Bello, Dancer, Choreographer, Madrid, Spain
Tamar Blom, Freelance artist, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Goran Bogdanovski, Dance teacher, choreographer, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Marc Boivin, Dance Artist, Montreal, Canada
Adriano Bolognino, Choreographer, Napoli, Italy
Federico Bonelli , Director of trasformatorio stichting, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Florence Boyer, Choreographer, La Réunion, France
Allison Brown, Professor Ballet & Contemporary Dance Academy of Music and
Dance Cologne, Frankfurt, Germany
Imre Lichtenberger Bozoki, Musician, Composer, Director, Vienna, Austria
Rosa Braber, Actress, Performance artist, Writer , Vienna, Austria
Camille Brogaard, Artist, Berlin, Germany
Dani Brown, Performing artist, Berlin, Germany
Szymon Brzoska, Composer, Brussels, Belgium
Zdenka Brungot Svitekova, Dance Artist, Educator, Researcher, Czech Republic, Slovakia
Clément Bugnon, Choreographer & dancer, Artistic director company Idem, Sainte-Croix, Switzerland
Felix Bürkle, Choreographer, Performer, Düsseldorf, Germany
Michael Caldwell, Dance Artist, Toronto, Canada
Dominique Cardito, Dancer, Basel, Switzerland
Barbara Carli, Performerin, Die Rabtaldirndln, Graz, Austria
Miquel Casaponsa, Musician, Barcelona, Spain
Lukasz Chotkowski, Dramaturg, Theatre director , Warsaw, Poland
Magdalena Chowaniec, Choreographer, Activist, Vienna, Austria
Sara Coffin, Co-Artistic Director, Mocean Dance, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Guy Cools, Dance dramaturg, Vienna, Austria
Anette Asp Christensen, Performer, Puppeteer, Copenhagen, Denmark
Stephanie Cumming, Dancer, Actress, Vienna, Austria
Das andere Theater, IG Freie Theater Steiermark, Graz, Austria
Dena Davida, Curator and educator, Montréal, Canada
João da Silva, Artist, educator and research fellow, Duisburg, Germany.
Barbara Demaret, Dramaturg, Bruxelles, Belgium
Evie Demetriou, Dance Artist, Limassol, Cyprus
Lucas Devroe, Choreographer, Tilburg, Netherlands
Stijn Dickel, Artistic director, aifoon, Gent, Belgium
Rosaria Di Maro , Dancer, Napoli, Italy
Fabritia D'Intino , Dancer, Choreographer, Foligno/Roma, Italy
Vânia Doutel Vaz, Dancer, Lisbon, Portugal
Deborah Dunn, Dance Artist, Montreal, Quebec
Arianna Economou, Director Dance Gate/Echo Arts, Lefkosia, Cyprus
Matteo Fargion, Composer, London, UK
Veza Fernandez , Choreographer, Performer, Vienna Austria
Lucrezia Gabrieli, Dancer, Verona, Italy
Inge Gappmaier , Choreographer, Dance-pedagogue, Researcher, Vienna, Austria
Elio Gervasi, Choregrapher, Artistic Director Tanz Company Gervasi, Vienna, Austria
Monica Gentile, Dancer, Choreographer, North Italy
Marcela Giesche, Lake Studios, Berlin, Germany
Dana Gingras, Choreographer, Performer,Teacher, Montreal, Canada
Barbara Giongo, Nataly Sugnaux Hernandez, Co-directors Le Grütli-Centre de production et de diffusion
des arts vivants, Geneva, Switzerland
Alexander Gottfarb, Dancer, Choreographer, Vienna, Austria
Viviana Gravano, Contemporary Art Curator, Bologna, Italia
Claire Granier Blaschke, Cultural Manager, Tanz die Toleranz, Vienna, Austria
Marijn Graven, Theatre director, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Kathelin Gray, Producer, Writer, Santa Fe, US, London, UK
Eleonora Greco, Dancer, Napoli, Italy
Nicolas Grimaldi Capitello, Choreographer, Napoli, Italy
Dietrich Grosse, Director Mondigromax/Opera initiative OBNC, Barcelona, Spain
Dominik Grünbühel, Performer, Choreographer, Vienna, Austria
Leopoldo Guadagno, Dancer, Napoli, Italy
Akos Hargitay, Choreographer, Dance Pedagogue, Vienna, Austria
Lia Haraki, Artist, Limassol, Cyprus
Chris Haring, Choreographer, Vienna, Austria
Annie Hanauer, Artist, USA
Barbara Herold, Regisseurin, Bregenz, Austria
Dylan Holly, Dance Performer & Teacher, Tilburg, Netherlands
Sophia Hörmann, Performer, choreographer, Vienna, Austria
Anna Huber, Choreographer, Dancer, Bern, Switzerland
Bauke Lievens, Circus dramaturg & scholar, Lovendegem, Belgium
Salvo Lombardo , Choreographer, Rome, Italy
Claudia Lomoschitz, Choreographer, Vienna, Austria
Giorgia Longo, Dancer, Catania, Italy
Emese Horti, Choreographer, Dancer, Producer, Graz, Austria
Simone Leona Hueber, Actress, Artist, Healer BIGmagicNOTHING productions, Berlin, Germany, Ikaria, Greece
Michael Hulls, Light Designer for Dance, London, UK
Magda Jędra, Dancer, Choreographer, Gdansk, Poland
Gilles Jobin, Choreographer, Artistic director Cie Gilles Jobin, Geneva Switzerland
Steffi Jöris, Artistic leader, Choreographer, Vienna, Austria
Emmanuel Jouthe, Performer, choreographer, Artistic director Cie Danse Carpe Diem, Montreal, Québec
Mayumi Lashbrook, Co-Artistic Director, Toronto, Canada
Mylène Lauzon, Directrice La Bellone, Bruxelles, Belgium
Christina Lederhaas, Performance Artist, Graz, Austria
Lina Lev , Dancer, Hamburg, Germany
Milan Loviška, Artist, Territorium KV, Vienna, Austria
Laura Karreman , Assistant professor Theatre Studies Utrecht University, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Matthias Kass, Choreographer, Dancer Artistic director, company Idem, Markdorf, Germany
Swantje Kawecki, Bachelor student of Circus Art, Tilburg, Netherlands.
Denise Kenney, Head of Creative Studies, UBC Okanagan, Performance Artist, Kelowna, Canada
Maria Kefirova, Choreographer, Dancer, Montreal, Canada
Bea Kiesslinger, Projektleitung kulturpolitischer Dialog TANZPAKT STADT LAND BUND Dachverband Tanz, Berlin, Deutschland
Marie Kinsky, Director SE.ST.A, Festival KoresponDance, President of Vize Tance, Prague, Czech Republic
Kaya Kołodziejczyk, Choreographer, Performer, Movement director, Belgium, Poland
Nanina Kotlowski, Dancer, Vienna, Austria
Ilya Krouglikov, Dance dramaturg, Montreal, Canada
Przemek Kaminski, Choreographer, Berlin, Germany
Otto Krause, Artist, Territorium KV, Vienna, Austria
Yvona Kreuzmannova, Founder and Director of Tanec Praha, Prague, Czech Republic
Robyn/Hugo Le Brigand, Dance Artist, Vienna, Austria
La Ribot, Artist/ director La Ribot-Geneve, Geneva, Switzerland
Claire Lefèvre, Choreographer, Vienna, Austria
Daniel Linehan, Choreographer, Artistic Director Hiatus, Brussels, Belgium
Lau Lukkarila, Choreographer, Performer, Vienna, Austria
Max Makowski, Dancer, Berlin, Germany
Hannah Mahler, Dancer, Performer, Teacher, Choreographer, Tilburg, Netherlands
Raul Maia, Choreographer, Performer, Austria, Portugal
Gudrun Maier, Performer, Graz, Austria
Katinka Marac, Lighting designer, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Andrea Merendelli, Theatre director, Storyteller, Anghiari, Tuscany, Italy
Katharina Meves, Dancer, Actress, Berlin, Germany
Joshua Monten, Choreographer, Bern, Switzerland
Sabine Molenaar, Choreographer, Brussels, Belgium
Daniel Mroz, Professor of Theatre Directing & Acting, Ottawa, Canada
Emma Murray, Performer, Choreographer, Bern, Switzerland
Jochem Naafs, Dance Dramaturg, Lecturer ArtEZ, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Nanako Nakajima, Dance Dramaturg, Researcher, Kyoto, Japan
Andrea Nann, Artistic Director, Dance Artist, Toronto, Canada
Morgan Nardi, Choreographer, Düsseldorf, Germany
Marta Navaridas, Dancer, Choreographer, Graz, Austria
Kotomi Nishiwaki, Choreographer, Performer, Barcelona, Spain
Laura Neyskens, Choreographer, Dancer , Gent, Belgium
Anna Nowak, Dancer, Choreographer, Vienna, Austria
Mary Nunan, Dance Artist, Limerick, Ireland
Mike O’Connor, Choreographer, Dancer, Vienna, Austria
Sara Ostertag, Director, Dramaturge Vorstandsvorsitzende IG Freie Theater,Vienna, Austria
Maartje Pasman, Dancer, Vienna, Austria
Suzana Phialas, Choreographer, Performance, Visual Artist, Limassol, Cyprus
Amanda Pina, Choreographer, Vienna, Austria
Frans Poelstra, Performer, Vienna, Austria
Marlies Pucher, Freelance Production Manager, Vienna, Austria
Patrick Redl, Dancer, Vienna, Austria
Inés Sauer, Theatre Dramaturg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Sina Saberi, Dance Artist, Cultural Manager, Tehran, Iran
Anabel Schellekens, Choreographer, Teacher, Leefdaal, Belgium
Sophie Schmeiser Production manager, Mollusca productions, Vienna, Austria
Franziska Schrammel, Production Manager, Vienna, Austria
Konstantina Skalionta, Choreographer, Dancer, Limassol, Cyprus
Thea Patterson, Performance Artist, Edmonton, Canada
Karin Pauer, Choreographer, Performer, Vienna, Austria
Nyko Piscopo, Choreographer, Napoli, Italy
Marc Ribot, Composer, Musician, New York, USA
Natalie Richardson, Producer KonzepArts&Ideas , Torino, Italy, UK
Hahn Rowe, Musician, New York, USA
Francesco Russo, Dancer, Napoli, Italy
Rafaela Sahyoun, Artist, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Arno Schuitemaker, Choreographer, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Lin Snelling, Dancer, Choreographer, Professor, Edmonton, Montreal, Canada
Ben Spatz, Senior Lecturer University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, UK
Gregory Stauffer, Artist, Choreographer, Geneva, Switzerland
Laura Taler, Artist, Filmmaker, Ottawa, Canada
Hannah Timbrell, Dancer, Vienna, Austria
Katalin Trencsenyi, Dramaturg, London, UK
Claudia Toggweiler, Arts Manager, Ballett teacher, Zurich, Switzerland
Lucie Tuma, Choreographer, Zurich, Switzerland
Steriani Tsintziloni, Dance scholar, curator, Athens, Greece
Tedi Tafel, Choreographer, Teacher, Mentor, Montréal, Canada
Lieven Thyrion, General Manager, les ballets C de la B, Gent, Belgium
Stephanie Thiersch, Choreographer, Director, Cologne, Germany
Peter Trosztmer, Dancer, Choreographer, Montreal, Canada.
Annelies Van Assche, Dance scholar, Antwerp, Belgium
Jade van den Hout, Dance performer, Maker, Teacher,Tilburg, The Netherlands
Alexis Vassiliou, Artistic director Dance House Lemesos, Dance Artist, Limassol, Cyprus
Gerarda Ventura, Artistic director Anghiari Dance Hub, Anghiari, Italy
Benjamin Verdonck, Artist, Antwerp, Belgium
Julian Vogel, Technician, Vienna, Austria
Mojra Vogelnik Skerlj, Performance maker, dancer, Breda, The Netherlands
Arnd vom Felde, Theater pedagogue, Langenfeld, Germany
Rodia Vomvolou, Dance dramaturg, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Joost Vrouenraets, Choreographer, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Alexandra Waierstall, Choreographer, Artist, Germany
Naishi Wang, Dancer, Choreographer, Toronto, Canada
Jeanne Werner, Actress, Vienna, Austria
Angélique Willkie, Assistant Professor, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Mary Wycherley, Dance Artist, Limerick, Ireland.
Scheherazade Zambrano, Choreographer, La Malagua Cie, Lille, France
Mirna Zagar, Executive Director, The Dance Centre, Vancouver, Canada
Zeitgenössischer Tanz Berlin Association's board