Who would want a job in the art market? It may seem glamorous from abroad, but the sector has witnessed generalized deployments, fall in job satisfaction and the growth of stagnant profits, while characterized by demanding hours in high pressure environments that lack diversity, according to the last Talent reportPosted this week.
Compiled by the Sophie Macpherson recruitment company (SML) and the Arttacic Research Group, this 1,590 employers and employees survey, mainly in the United Kingdom and the US. 37,430, but below its median of £ 47,455 for London (most of those works of national statistics are based).
Black professionals reported the lowest average salary, 63 percent of the amount made by their white counterparts, while men were the highest, which obtained up to 60 percent more than women in continental Europe and 23 % more in the United States. This trend was 12.5 percent less in the United Kingdom.
In general, between 2022 and 2024, the average salary of the artistic sector grew by 14 percent in the United Kingdom and fell almost 7 percent in the United States. The cost of the deputy life crises “probably exceeded” any gain, says Rosie Allan, SML manager, and satisfaction with remuneration fell by 25.7 percent in the United States and in 19.6 percent in the United Kingdom between 2023 and 2024. This was discovered that it affected the older respondents (those over 50), despite the fact that this group with the largest gain in the United Kingdom in the United Kingdom in the United Kingdom in the United Kingdom in the United Kingdom £ 54,500, or has affected most of the respondents (those over 50), although this group has the highest gain in the United Kingdom of £ 54,500, or which more than the US. UU. The report suggests that “additional financial commitments, such as mortgages and retirement planning,” contributed to their unsatisfaction.
The report does not deepen the gender salary gap, although it suggests that the root cause is an ancient story of “men who predominantly occupy senior roles or executives in the world of commercial art, despite the fact that our findings indicate that a greater number of women work throughout the sector in general.” The problem was one of those analyzed in a separate survey of more than 2,000 women, also produced this week, by the Association of Women in the Arts and Artnet. This found that 54 percent of women believed that their salaries were lower than the men used “in similar positions”, while less than 1 percent of respondents thought they earned more.
Other factors exacerbate the trend. In a panel to commemorate the well -assisted launch of the Awita report, the London gallery owner, Sadie Colles, said that, although more than two thirds of their staff of 40 were women, including their superiors, only five were parents. In his business, he finds: “Gender salary parity is less problems than the care of children for women, because costs are so huge … Often if someone decides that they want to start a family, they have to think, can they remain in this industry?”
Other individual family problems include “the requirements to travel, be on weekends (we are all open on Saturdays, go to [evening] Openings, being in the social environment. . . All of that is very, very difficult, ”said Coles. The SML report also indicates that most art employees, often in public orientation environments, have set hours with relatively limited opportunities for remote work.
Another worrying finding is the role of education in the art world, especially in the United Kingdom, where the SML survey finds that an education at the secondary school (18 years) resulted in an average salary of £ 52,000 versus £ 38,500 for employees with a master’s degree. “The experience of the real world and industry connections can import more,” the report finds. Jonathan Woolfson, director of the Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London, whose master’s programs include art and luxury business businesses, says it is a dynamic that has been aware. As such, he says, the academic programs of the Institute “combine direct experiences and connections of the industry to ensure that they provide the greatest possible improvement to the employability of students.”
In the SML breakdown of wages for paper in the sector, it was discovered that the best paid employee in the United Kingdom was the director of an art advisory firm (£ 100,000 salary guide), while in the United States a director of a private collection was $ 162,500. It was discovered that the lowest median payment is for an art fair administrator in the United Kingdom (£ 26,000) and, in the USA, a shipping and logistics administrator ($ 48,750).
The report hesitatingly predicts a recovery of the art market, although there are signs that things have worsened since the most optimistic beginning of this year. A wave of layoffs among the market actors, especially in the auction house of Sotheby’s, has now extended to museums and other institutions, including at least 60 roles (18 percent personnel) in the Royal Academy of London and an expected one. 40 redundancies (7 percent) in Tate. The recent labor rights bill of the United Kingdom “has had unwanted consequences, discouraging hiring, instead of promoting job security,” according to the report.
In the United States, the repression of the Trump administration against diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is negatively affecting workforce and artistic programming. The SML report urges employers not to retire, stating that “systems purely based on merits are often not truly objective.”
Despite the challenges, the report identifies opportunities for employees, even in cities outside the traditional centers of London and New York, such as Paris, Milan, Dubai and Riad, where cultural scenes are expanding.
Sector employees also report the greatest satisfaction with the “autonomy and independence” of their roles, which leads to “a greater sense of property about their work,” says Allan. For employers who “adopt a strategic approach,” he adds, there is a “strong talent.” The interruption is not so bad, according to the report, since it can “create an opportunity for companies to recruit experienced professionals that may not have been previously available.” It remains to be seen if they are ready to avoid the art market.
Sophiemacpherson.com; Awita.london
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