January 22, 2007

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).
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