Artists’ Union England is a new trade union for professional visual artists, applied artists and artists with a socially engaged practice. We interpret these terms widely, in recognition of the vast range of mediums, methods and interdisciplinary fields that artists use to create works of art. Unlike other cultural professionals, for a long time artists have had no collective voice in the form of a trade union, to represent them at work and to lobby and advocate on their behalf.
As an independent trade union, we aim to represent artists at strategic decision-making levels and positively influence the degree to which practice is valued and the roles artists play within society. For example, view our democratically agreed ‘Rates of Pay’ document here.