Copyright Agency has been appointed by the Australian Government to manage the Resale Royalty Scheme for artists, established under the Resale Royalty Right for Visual Artists Act 2009 (the Act). Under the Scheme, artists benefit from their artwork beyond the first sale by receiving five per cent of the sale price when eligible artworks are resold commercially for $1000 or more. Since its start on 9 June 2010 until 9 February 2014, the scheme has generated royalties totaling more than $2.28 million for artists.
Tamara Winikoff OAM, Executive Director of the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA) said, “While an enormous number of artists support the scheme, they have been the silent majority in the debate which has been dominated by powerful gallery owners and auction houses who begrudge sharing a small proportion (5%) of the profits with artists and are opposed to the requirement for greater accountability in their dealings.” “The amount of the artists’ royalty is about one tenth of the commissions charged by art traders, but is significant to artists, many of whom live below the poverty line,” Winikoff continued.
With the fate of the Resale Royalty Scheme for artists in peril, prominent and emerging Australian artists are coming together to demonstrate their strong support for the scheme.
The RIGHTNOW exhibition, opening on 9 April at Sydney’s Boomalli Aboriginal Artists’ Co-operative, brings together 100 artists who support the Resale Royalty scheme. It is an opportunity for artists to show their support in the best way they can, through exhibiting their incredible artistic talent. Featured artists include: Reg Mombassa, Juan Ford, Matthew Johnson, Jasper Knight, Jason Wing, Anne Zahalka and Jenny Fraser.
Erroneous criticism of the resale scheme repeated often by art market professionals is that the majority of the resale money goes to “dead, white males”. The actual statistics at www.resaleroyalty.org.au dispute this.
Of the top 50 artists earning money from the scheme, 26 are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artists. Across the totality of the scheme, 65 per cent of all artists receiving royalties are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, an extremely important form of respect for their work and a source of independent income. Since the scheme began, more than $2.28 million in royalties has been generated for more than 820 artists. The lowest royalty paid was $50 and the highest was $55,000. A review of the scheme was conducted by the Australian Government in 2013 but the final report has not yet been released.
Ms Winikoff said, “Through this exhibition, we are urging the current Minister for the Arts and Attorney-General, Senator George Brandis, to show his serious commitment to Australia’s artists by continuing this fledging scheme which has already delivered real benefits to artists and will achieve much more in the fullness of time.
Winikoff continued, “The importance of the rights of artists to not only continue to earn independent income from their work but to be professionally acknowledged and able to track their work over time cannot be overestimated.”
Artists are invited to submit their signatures to a petition in support of resale royalties: www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/keep-the-resale-royalty-scheme-for-australian-artists
RIGHTNOW Exhibition in support of Resale Royalty for Artists
Boomalli Aboriginal Artist’s Co-operative
9 to 27 April, 2014
Sydney
David Frank, Ngura, acrylic on canvas
© David Frank/Iwantja Arts
