A Survival Guide for Visual Artists

Making art and making an art career are two different things. A professional artist is responsible for the day to day business of their career such as financial management, applying for grants and funding, documenting work marketing, promotion, researching opportunities, and a list of other tasks. These areas are not always covered within the education system so, while highly educated and skilled, many visual artists are not prepared for the reality of life after art school.

As an artist led organisation VAI is keenly aware that artists are pressed for time, trying to fit their art making into daily lives that juggle family, work and other commitments. We hope this manual will provide you with some of the tools to make the most of the opportunities that come your way, whether it be pursuing a post graduate course, getting a studio, entering juried exhibitions, initiating your own projects or getting representation through a gallery. But, don’t forget… you should never rely on an opportunity finding you. It is very much you creating them for yourself. VAI is there to assist you with the many services and information channels that we offer to professional visual artists in all art forms.

Basic Income Guarantee for Artists – what we know so far

On the 13th of October 2021 Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media; Catherine Martin announced that a ...
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Brexit Information for Artists

Now that the UK is no longer in the EU, there are new rules and regulations to understand. The most ...
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Simple tips from another world – well established learning to assist you in getting exhibitions.

Across all industries, an agreed axiom is that sending any type of correspondence or making any form of contact that ...
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Tax and Self-Employment

While every effort is made to ensure the information in this article is accurate, Visual Artists Ireland and the author ...
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Social Welfare for Professional Visual Artists

updated Wednesday, 11 September 2019 Visual Artists’ Access to Jobseeker’s Allowance – Social Welfare On Monday, 12th June 2017 a ...
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Preparing Proposals

Introduction This document is intended to assist you prepare better proposals for funding opportunities, commissions, awards etc. In this article ...
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Contracts

Introduction If you were to stop to consider how often you entered into a contract, you might be surprised. Much ...
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Insurance for Artists

As with all insurance cover Visual Artists Ireland recommends that artists contact various companies in order to get the best ...
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Importing and Exporting Your Work

Introduction The transportation of works of art can be a complicated and costly business involving a variety of factors such ...
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Copyright

In Ireland, the Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 sets out the rights of copyright owners and penalties for infringement ...
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Artists Resale Right (ARR)

The Artists Resale Right (ARR) also known as droit de suite (Right to Follow), has been in operation in Ireland ...
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Pricing Your Work

Introduction Costing and Pricing are two separate but inter-related processes.  Many artists focus on finding the right “price” for their ...
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Undertaking Commissions

Introduction The past decade has seen significant increases in the range of opportunities for visual artists to work on commissions ...
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VAT and Artists

While every effort is made to ensure the information in this article is accurate, Visual Artists Ireland and the author ...
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Budgeting and Financing

Introduction This article will be of interest to self-employed artists. It aims to provide guidelines on how to manage and ...
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