CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule
Has the Artist Been Paid?
Has the Artist Been Paid?
The CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule is sort of like a minimum wage for artists. It sets minimum recommended rates for the use of artwork and certain services that visual artists provide. You may also be interested in CARFAC’s Public Art Fee Schedule. The Public Art Fee Schedule is a living, best-practices guidance document developed through extensive consultation with a range of stakeholders and is separate from the CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule.
Widely recognized as the national standard, rates are all recommendations. That said, many arts councils require that public galleries pay artist’s fees as a condition of their funding. And artists have rights that help them to get paid.
For example, did you know that when your work is exhibited and it’s not for sale, you are supposed to be paid? Unless you have signed over the copyright, no one can exhibit or copy your work without your permission. This is your negotiating trump card – you can always walk away if you don’t like the conditions under which you are being asked to work.
It’s also important to note that all rates are minimums – CARFAC encourages artists to ask for more.
The fee schedule itself is a complicated document with many tables and notes. This is because the work that artists do simply won’t fit into one or two boxes. Be sure to read all the notes in the relevant section – they can sometimes change the rates depending on the circumstances.
We receive many requests for assistance regarding the CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule every month. In order to streamline this process, we have developed a Fee Schedule Intake Form, which allows space for the information we need to answer your questions.
If the CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule does not currently offer guidance specific to your project, and you’re looking for advice, you may request a Fee Schedule consultation:
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“Artists, like professionals in other fields, should be paid for their work.”
Since 1968, CARFAC has issued its exhibition fee schedules. These schedules were developed from rates established by Jack Chambers and Tony Urquhart in 1968. They are updated yearly through negotiation and usage while reflecting increases in the cost of living. All fees are considered minimum payments for the use of the copyrights and/or the professional services of visual and media artists.
The payment of the Exhibition Right for the public exhibition of artistic production became part of federal copyright law in 1988. This exhibition fee is payment for the use of work created after June 7, 1988, in an exhibition in a public space where the gallery receives public funds. The exhibition fee only applies when the artwork shown is not being actively presented for sale or hire. When artworks created after June 7, 1988, in a gallery’s permanent collection are exhibited, a copyright exhibition fee is required to be paid. Copyright fees and royalties are subject to GST; the GST is not included in the listed fees.