The Guardian looks at the easy life artists have in some Scandanavian countries and France:
There’s the innate financial instability of most artistic careers (low earnings, and sometimes none at all; little job security; no pension or other benefits), together with the recession. Then there’s the fact that – unlike some European and Scandinavian countries – the British government makes no specific social provision for artists, unless through the publicly funded regional arts councils. In Denmark, for instance, 275 artists are granted an annual stipend of between 15,000 and 149,000 Danish krone (£1,750 to £17,000) every year for the rest of their lives. In France, public funds are awarded through regional bodies not unlike our arts councils, except that the range of awards is much greater: artists in the Ile-de-France region, which includes Paris, can, for instance, claim up to ¤7,500 (£6,545) specifically to equip their studios.
Don’t Give Up the Day Jobs (The Guardian)
