For Immediate Release
CARFAC, RAAV and COVA-DAAV are delighted to see the Artist’s Resale Right (ARR) in Canada’s 2024 Fall Economic Statement
OTTAWA, December 17, 2024 – Visual artists from coast to coast to coast have waited a long time for Canada to legislate the Artist’s Resale Right (ARR) for Canadian artists. Their representative organizations, Canadian Artists’ Representation (CARFAC), Regroupement des artistes en arts visuels du Québec (RAAV), and Copyright Visual Arts (COVA-DAAV), who together represent over 6,000 artists across the country, thank the Canadian Government, and especially the Ministers of Finance, Canadian Heritage, and Innovation, Science and Industry for acknowledging this important economic right for visual artists and including it in the 2024 Fall Economic Statement:
“Artists, particularly visual artists, are among the lowest income earners in Canada despite their significant cultural contributions. An Artist’s Resale Right provides the creators of original visual artwork with a royalty whenever their work is resold through an eligible sale, offering an additional income stream. In the 2024 Fall Economic Statement, the government announces its intent to amend the Copyright Act to create an Artist’s Resale Right in Canada, ensuring Canadian visual artists benefit from future sales of their work.”
The Artist’s Resale Right is a royalty that allows artists to share in the wealth they generate in the marketplace. It aligns Canada with over 90 countries around the world that already have ARR legislation. Many of those laws provide for visual artists to receive 5% when their work is resold in the secondary market through an intermediary such as an auction house or commercial gallery. The ARR helps artists benefit from the ongoing commercial success from their art. It will help many senior artists who have worked for years in the industry, and often face financial difficulties later in life. It is also a huge win for Indigenous artists, who have too often been exploited in the secondary art market. The ARR provides much deserved financial support and recognition for an artist’s lifetime of contributions to the arts.
“Artists have been hit hard by cost of living increases, and affordability is a primary concern to all Canadians,”said April Britski, National Executive Director of CARFAC, who has been fighting for its inclusion in Canadian law for nearly twenty years. “We look forward to working with the government to finalize details about when and how the ARR will roll out in Canada, ensuring that visual artists will be better compensated for their work.”
“The inclusion of ARR for visual artists in Canada in the Fall Economic Statement marks a crucial step in recognizing the ongoing value of the work of Canadian artists,” says Camille Cazin, Executive Director of RAAV. “The resale right restores a balance by ensuring that artists are fairly compensated for their work when their works are resold. We applaud the government’s commitment to fairness and recognition of the contribution artists make to Canada’s cultural and economic wealth.”
“Copyright Visual Arts (COVA-DAAV) is a non-profit visual arts organization representing over one thousand Canadian artists and we are incredibly thankful that the Canadian Government has included the Artist’s Resale Right in the Fall Economic Statement,” says Marcia Lea, Executive Director of COVA-DAAV. “This finally brings Canada in line with over 90 other countries around the world that recognize the need to put much needed compensation in the hands of the artists who contribute so much to culture and the economy.”
CANADIAN ARTISTS’ REPRESENTATION / LE FRONT DES ARTISTES CANADIENS (CARFAC)
CARFAC is Canada’s national professional membership association with 4,000 visual artist members. We believe that artists, like professionals in other fields, should be paid fairly for their work, and we educate the visual arts community about artists’ economic and legal rights.
REGROUPEMENT DES ARTISTES EN ARTS VISUELS DU QUÉBEC (RAAV)
With over 1600 members, RAAV is the only association legally mandated to represent visual artists in Quebec. RAAV’s main mission is to improve the living conditions and professional practices of artists in visual arts in Quebec.
COPYRIGHT VISUAL ARTS – DROIT D’AUTEUR ARTS VISUELS (COVA-DAAV)
Copyright Visual Arts is a not-for-profit copyright management society providing Creator’s Rights administration for professional Canadian and Québécois visual and media artists. Copyright Visual Arts represents over one thousand visual and media artists.
CONTACTS:
APRIL BRITSKI
National Executive Director, CARFAC
director@carfac.ca, 613-233-6161
CAMILLE CAZIN
Director General, RAAV
camille.cazin@raav.org, 438-832-8905
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