To sign up as an artist, complete the FRANK Membership Form (Artists) where you will be directed to pay at the end of it. 

To sign up as an organisation or gallery, complete the FRANK Membership Form (Organisations) where you will be asked for details of your organisation, invoicing requirements, key contacts and interest in engaging with the R&D of the FRANK tools. Once you have submitted the form, we will get back to you via email as soon as we can.

If you require the form in an alternative format, please email us at letsbefrankartistpay@gmail.com

A new, holistic framework in fair practice in the arts, focusing on the artists’ working conditions, contracts and remuneration of their labour. This framework consists of:

• FRANK Conceptual Fair Pay Calculator. Provide context-specific calculation of the amount of labour demanded from an artist including Administration, Planning, Research & Development, Delivery, Access Cost, etc. The calculator will enable a collective acknowledgement around the financial and systemic responsibility of hiring artists.
• FRANK Document Templates. A set of transparent and accessible artist contracts templates that consider the different needs, livelihoods and labour of artists (in collaboration with Canvas Art Law).
• FRANK Principles and Guidance. A set of principles and guidance for member organisations to align with, agreed with membership. 

The goal is that an appropriately implemented holistic framework will change mindsets on fair artist, providing an enhanced basis for (1) acknowledging the different forms of artistic labour which gives an understanding of why it is important to pay artists the appropriate amount (2) supporting and protecting artists in clarifying their needs and rights (3) institutions to think about what, where and how they should be paying and supporting artists.

FRANK works to change the mindset and practicality on achieving fair artist pay. There is still a distinctive lack of awareness about the various contributions of artists, what being freelance entails and of the working practices and processes truly supportive of this status. FRANK believes that current solutions offered are not satisfactory as artist pay is often equated to teaching wages or the living wage rather than evaluating artistic pay as its own profession. Current pay rates outlined, lack full guidance on how to pay artists fairly, and lack distinction between the different forms of labour (e.g. research / production / administration etc). 

In this initiation year, FRANK is developing a set of applicable solutions – FRANK tools – to holistically address fair remuneration of artistic labour, working conditions and fair contracts.

Through the FRANK Conceptual Fair Pay Calculator, we aim to provide context-specific calculation of the amount of labour demanded from an artist including Administration, Planning, Research & Development, Delivery, Access Cost, etc. The calculator will enable a collective acknowledgement around the financial and systemic responsibility of hiring artists.

With one of our founding members, Canvas Art Law, we are producing a transparent and accessible Questionnaire/Document Template which artists can send to institutions prior to starting a project. This will act as a basis for the contract between the artist and institution. 

Alongside the above, we will develop a clear framework – FRANK Principles and Guidance – on fair practice and fair pay which member organisations have to align with, agreed with their membership. 

In this quarter, FRANK will be meeting our founding members to go through the tools and gauge their responses. During this time, we will reach out to our initiation supporters who have expressed interest to work on the different tools. 

Following quarter will be dedicated to working on the tools with member organisations and key collaborators, to share their insights through roundtable discussions. These exchanges will aid further development of the FRANK tools in exchange with our interested group of members, before publishing them on our website in October/November 2023 for our members’ access. In parallel, we will be building our website for our resources and references alongside membership forums for needs and solutions around fair practice in the arts.

We work with our member institutions to foster fair, transparent and accessible practices which will improve the working conditions of artists. We believe fairer remuneration of artists makes for a more sustainable and democratic art world in which everyone benefits. We are aware of the funding challenges that artists and arts organisations face.

In our initiation year, we are working with our members to develop the FRANK tools. Through open and frank dialogues between artists, institutions and funding bodies, this ongoing collaboration strives to find fair solutions to barriers to fair pay and transparency in the arts.

We will also develop a FRANK accreditation map which allows organisations and institutions to receive FRANK recognition for positive change towards artist’s fair pay at each stage.

FRANK’s initiation year is from October 2022 – October 2023.

2022. FRANK has been working on building the FRANK tools. We have drafted the FRANK Principles and Guidance; Conceptual Fair Pay Calculator. We have been conducting research in these areas and identified key collaborators to work with. In the meantime, we have been collating artist contracts and conducting research into these area, which will be developed together with our Founding Member, Canvas Art Law.

Q1 2023. FRANK continues to develop the FRANK tools. At the end of Q1, we are meeting our founding members to go through the tools and gauge their responses. During this time, we will reach out to our initiation members who have expressed interest to work on the different tools. 

Q2 2023. Dedicated to working on the tools with member organisations and key collaborators, to share their insights through roundtable discussions. These exchanges will aid further development of the FRANK tools in exchange with our interested group of members.

October/November 2023. Finalise FRANK tools and publish them on our website for our members’ access. 

Throughout the initiation year, FRANK will be building our website to be used as a repository for our resources and references alongside membership forums for needs and solutions around fair practice in the arts. 

Your membership fee will fund the development of the FRANK tools and cover our admin costs. FRANK is funded solely by membership dues and donations. We aim to be fully transparent in our financial transactions and will publish a yearly report at the end of each year.