Binding Agreements

Members of CARFAC, RAAV and the National Gallery of Canada’s negotiation teams, 2018

The Status of the Artist Act gives artists the right to bargain collectively with federal producers to set minimum standards for pay and working conditions. CARFAC and our Quebec partner RAAV are certified to negotiate on behalf of visual artists in Canada.

Once a signed federal agreement is reached with an institution and is ratified by our membership, it is legally binding and will set a major precedent for other federal and even provincial institutions.

National Gallery of Canada Agreement

In 2015, CARFAC and RAAV ratified their first scale agreement with the National Gallery of Canada. The agreement covers terms and conditions for the exhibition and reproduction of works of art, as well as the provision of professional services by living Canadian artists. It includes mandatory minimum fees and working conditions offered to artists by the gallery. Artists remain free to negotiate above these minimums, but they can never be offered less.

In May 2018, visual artists from across Canada voted to approve a new scale agreement with the National Gallery of Canada. The National Gallery of Canada Agreement takes effect June 1, 2018 and remains in effect until May 31, 2022, or until such time that it is renegotiated.

• 1. Scale Agreement 2018 – 2022 (rev 2020)
• 2. Schedule A – Artist Professional Services (2023 Revision)
• 3. Schedule B – Exhibition Rights 2018 – 2022
• 4. Schedule C – Reproduction Rights 2018 – 2022
• 5. Schedule D – Long Term Agreement 2018 – 2022
• 6. Contract – standard version 2018 – 2022 (rev 2020)
• 7. Contract – long version 2018 – 2022

Voluntary Agreements

CARFAC has recommended fees payable to artists since its inception in 1968. The CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule has been updated yearly through negotiation and usage, and reflects increases in the cost of living. All fees are considered minimum payments for the use of an artist’s copyright and professional services. Widely recognized as the national standard, our rates are recommendations, with the exception of agreements negotiated under the Status of the Artist Act, which are binding. That said, many arts councils require that public galleries pay artist’s fees as a condition of their funding. Additionally, the payment of the Exhibition Right and the Reproduction Right are included in Canada’s Copyright Act.

Our Fee Schedule includes recommendations for exhibition royalties, reproduction royalties, advertising/commercial reproduction royalties, and professional services fees.

CAMDO, CMA, and ARCA Agreement

In 2007, CARFAC and RAAV signed a voluntary agreement on Exhibition Fees with the Canadian Art Museum Directors’ Organization (CAMDO) and the Canadian Museums Association (CMA). The agreed fee guidelines went into effect on January 1, 2008 for a 5 year term, and were incorporated directly into the Exhibition Fees section of our Fee Schedule. In 2013, this agreement was renewed for an additional 3 years, with the Artist-Run Centres and Collectives Conference (ARCA) also signing on. Since then, all organizations are regularly consulted on proposed changes to the Fee Schedule.