This is a list of Artists Unions - organised by geographical area.

Each entry includes:
  • a link to the Union's website - embedded in the name of the Union
  • An extract from the "about" page
  • a picture of their website
  • plus basic information about membership fees.
  • some include information about basic rates of pay they have negotiated for or recommend for artists.
Most artists unions have negotiated good packages of support (eg insurance) which many artists will find useful,. More information can be found on the website

Note: I'm still having a think about whether to include the groups which act on behalf of artists - but do not refer to themselves as Unions on this page.
Picture
Artists Union members picketing during the 1930s

EUROPE

England
​

Artists Union England​
Artists' Union England represents artists

​Our members work in disciplines including:Visual Art, Applied Arts, Socially Engaged Art,
Moving Image, Sound and Performance
  • Founded 2016
  • Membership costs £42 annually – equivalent to £3.50 per month
  • Twitter
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REFERENCE:
“A new landscape for artists now exists: where these core workers now have a trade union to represent them, which will work for better pay and conditions across England; where they can work together to challenge exploitative practice, be represented independently and democratically and raise the bar for artists,”
AUE Statement

Scotland
​

Scottish Artists Union
We demand the artist has a right to a decent living wage, comparable to other well-trained and educated professionals.
We value the artist's role within all sectors of society, and is of the opinion that Scotland should celebrate and support the immense creativity and vitality of artists.......
We campaign for arts funding to directly support the visual artist and arts activity rather than generate bureaucratic overload and competition.
  • Formally constituted in 2001
  • Membership costs £60.00 annually - you can pay annually or monthly by direct debit for just £5.00 per month.​​
REFERENCE:

Ireland
​

Artists’ Union of Ireland
​REFERENCE:

NORTH AMERICA

USA
​

New York Artists Equity Association (1965 - present)

New York Artists Equity Association, Inc. ("Artists Equity") is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1947 by artists and art patrons with the mission to promote opportunities for artists.  It operates Equity Gallery, an art space located on the Lower East Side of New York City. 
  • In 1965, the New York chapter of AEA split off to form the New York Artists Equity Association.  
  • In 1991, the organization, officially known as New York Artists Equity Association, Inc. (and referred to by its members simply as “Artists Equity”), became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
  • Since 2015 it has operated a non-profit art space - the  Equity Gallery - in New York​
REFERENCE:
Philadelphia/Tri-State Artists Equity Association, Inc.

A business association of professional artists, works to promote the business interests of visual artists through exhibits, professional issues, advocacy and other programs

Has achieved:
  • establishment of a 1% for Art ordinance in Philadelphia (the first of its kind in the country),
  • the organization of a Symposium for Health Hazards in the Visual Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 
  • the sponsorship of many celebrations of the visual arts throughout the Delaware Valley.
REFERENCE
Art Workers Union (Fry Art Museum, Seattle)
The security staff of the Frye Art Museum in Seattle, WA has formed a union. We have taken this step because we love the Frye, but if things don’t change, we’ll no longer be able to afford to work there. Most of us have degrees, but the majority of us are stuck making minimum wage, at part-time hours, with no benefits.
  • Formed in 2019
  • some workers laid off during pandemic in April 2020
REFERENCE
GENERAL NEWS
​
The impact of Covid-19 means that as in World war 2 (see below) art workers are interested in how they can group together for the benefit of all
REFERENCE
  • With unemployment at an historic high, America's art workers band together | The Art Newspaper (4 September 2020)​

ART UNIONS IN HISTORY
​

USA
​

The Artists Union or Artists' Union 

This was was a short-lived union of artists in New York in the years of the Great Depression. It was influential in the establishment of both the Public Works of Art Project in December 1933 and the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration in August 1935.
REFERENCE
Artists Equity Association (1947 - ??)

​Founded in March 1947, Artists Equity's original mission was to promote opportunities for artists and address business and economic issues affecting American artists (following the end of war work).

Membership increased from 300 in 1947 to 1,800 in 1952. ​ Doubtless due to the activities which took place via conferences in 1949 and 1950.
REFERENCE:
​“If a bomb had dropped on the Museum of Modern Art the evening of April 30, it would probably have set American art back a quarter century. A good majority of the biggest art names in the country were on hand for the official ‘coming-out’ meeting of the newly formed Artists Equity Association.”
— Art Digest, May 15, 1947
Picture
Artists Equity banquet in honor of Yasuo Kuniyoshi, 1948. (Mitzi Gallant Papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)
Practical publications were released on taxes and opportunities for exhibiting, and the Woodstock Conferences of 1949 and 1950 were pioneering events that brought together artist leaders and the directors of major museums to discuss such issues as representation in museum shows, the cost of shipping and insuring their works, participation on juries, and so on. Finally, and most important, a new spirit of cooperation came about among the artists and museums, dealers, the art press, and collectors. 
​​​The Founding of Artists Equity Association After World War
​ The New York chapter continues with minor name changes, and another National Artists Equity organization is based in Washington D.C. Both continue the heritage of the original Artist Equity Association in their concern for the economic well-being of their members and for such issues as health and life insurance, contracts with dealers, and the health hazards of artist's materials. 
​​The Founding of Artists Equity Association After World War
​The Art Workers' Coalition (1969 - 1971)

An an open coalition of a group of activists - comprising artists, filmmakers, writers, critics, and museum staff - who came together in New York in January 1969 to promote artists’ rights and to challenge the art establishment into implementing various reforms. Its principal aim was to pressure the city's museums – notably the Museum of Modern Art – into implementing economic and political reforms
REFERENCE:

Ireland
​

The Royal Irish Art Union (1839 - 1859)

​Bought Irish paintings and distributed prints after them to members. Organised the exhibition of Works of Ancient Masters of 1847 to raise funds for victims of the Famine.

It's considered by some to be a novel and very successful enterprise.
REFERENCE