Banner designed for the 57th edition of the Carnegie International (image courtesy Carnegie Museum of Art)
Since Working Artists and the Greater Economy, better known as W.A.G.E., rolled out its certification program in 2014 to commit arts nonprofits to pay artists fairly, 50 arts institutions across the United States have signed up. None, however, are entire museums, which have largely shown the greatest resistance to W.A.G.E. certification.
To gradually improve the compensation standards of large art institutions, W.A.G.E. has chosen to bend one of its cardinal rules that requires whole organizations, rather than exhibitions, to be certified. Today, it announced that the Carnegie Museum of Art received certification for its forthcoming Carnegie International, as a way to “approach the reform of large institutions brick by brick,” according to a press release. Held every five years, the exhibition is the first biennial-style exhibition to become W.A.G.E. Certified. The 57th edition will open on October 12, 2018 and run through March 25, 2019.
“Like last year’s certification of Open Space, a department of SFMOMA, we wish to again demonstrate that where there is political will within museums by determined institutional actors, it can be done,” W.A.G.E. writes.
According to W.A.G.E. standards, each participating artist in next year’s Carnegie International is guaranteed a fee of at least $1,500. The Carnegie Museum’s annual operating expenses far exceed $5 million, and W.A.G.E. uses a scaling mechanism to calculate equitable compensation for artists that is directly proportional to an organization’s financial means.
“The decision by the Carnegie International to guarantee evenly distributed remuneration is a rebuke of speculation as a form of payment in the nonprofit sector,” W.A.G.E. writes. “It is also an affirmation of art’s value as a common good — one to which both the labor of artists and institutions contribute, and which both must collectively work to maintain.”
The Latest
Three Looted Antiquities at the Met Repatriated to Turkey
Nine other repatriated works were seized from Met Trustee Shelby White, whose collection was subject to a criminal investigation.
Required Reading
This week, the world’s lightest paint, Pakistan’s feminist movement, World Puppy Day, and were some of Vermeer’s paintings created by his daughter?
The Wider World and Scrimshaw
On March 28, join the New Bedford Whaling Museum online and in-person for a symposium on global carving traditions from across the Pacific Rim.
Who Will Decide on the Future of a Miami Native Burial Ground?
Native activists say sacred remains and objects dug up from a Brickell construction site should remain there, but mega-developer Jorge Pérez is pushing back.
How Can a Curator Approach South Asian Futurisms?
How do I acknowledge my shortcomings while reckoning with obscured histories and the exclusion of subaltern narratives in the fine art landscape? A working checklist for curators.
MCA Chicago Presents On Stage: Frictions
Will Rawls, Shamel Pitts | TRIBE, and Barak adé Soleil explore Blackness, queerness, movement, and dance in performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago.
The Complicated Legacy of Camilo Egas
The Ecuadorian painter, a leading figure of Latin America’s Indigenismo art movement, has been both praised and scorned for his representation of Indigenous peoples.
Tom Jones Zeroes in on Ho-Chunk Visibility
“I think about the young kids, the teenagers, and I think being able to see yourself represented in art is so powerful,” says the artist.
Haggerty Museum of Art Presents Tomás Saraceno in Dialogue With Dr. Somesh Roy
The artist and researcher will explore soot’s effects on climate change and public health in this online conversation.
Hundreds of Artworks by NYC Teenagers Go on View at the Met
The talented seventh through twelfth-grade students are recipients of the 2023 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards.
NYC’s Flatiron Building Sells for a Whopping $190M
The sale to outsider bidder Jacob Garlick puts an end to the protracted legal battle between the iconic skyscraper’s five former owners.
McKnight Visual Artist Fellows Discussion Series at the Minneapolis Institute of Art
The series features 2021 Fellows David Bowen, Mara Duvra, Rotem Tamir, Ben Moren, and Dyani White Hawk in conversation with renowned curators and critics.
The Best Memes Roasting the “We ❤️ NYC” Campaign
A graphic designer on Twitter created a hilarious send-up of the universally reviled logo, and the rest is history.
Did You Know These Museums Were Free for New Yorkers?
The “Free Admission” campaign is advocating to make ticket pricing information more transparent to visitors, who may be confused or misled by institutions’ language.