Poor aboriginal artists

Minority artists earn less: study[V]isible minority artists--largely from the Chinese, black and South Asian communities--earn an average of $20,800 a year, or 11 per cent less than the average artist. Immigrant artists fare slightly better, taking home about $23,200 a year, a touch under the average earnings of all artists.

The lowest incomes were those of our aboriginal artists.

The report, which presented a breakdown of the diversity within Canada's artistic ranks, also found that:

The majority of aboriginal artists live in the territories.

Aboriginal artists make up 54 per cent of all artists living in the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Aboriginal artists make much less in the territories (average salary $13,000) than their colleagues who live in major metropolitan areas (average salary $22,500).