On Monday, October 21, a press conference was held at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, at which the new provisions of the Act on Social Security for Professional Artists were presented. During the meeting, the results of the latest edition of the study “Counted and Counting. Artists, creators and performers in Poland” by the SWPS University were also presented.
What is included in the new project? According to the Ministry of Culture, it aims to support artists whose income is below the national average. The goal of the new law is to change the system, which will make it possible to even out the glaring disparities in access to social benefits in the artistic community.
The proposed law includes a mechanism for subsidies to social security contributions and health insurance contributions (transferred to the relevant account of the artist in the ZUS system). The subsidy will apply to those who have not earned more than 125% of the minimum monthly wage in the previous calendar year in the last three years. The subsidy is intended to supplement the contributions in the professional artist's account up to the amount of contributions due for the minimum wage.
How will artists be able to apply for support? They will need to obtain the status of a professional artist, which will be granted by an administrative decision issued by the director of the new body, i.e. the Institute of the Professional Artist. The decision will be issued after consultation with the Opinion Committee, which will include representatives of creative and artistic circles (90 people) and representatives of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy and the Social Insurance Institution (24 people). The status of professional artist can be granted for a maximum period of 5 years. However, after 10 years of continuous possession of the status, it can be granted for an indefinite period of time.
The new law also provides for the creation of a mechanism of benefits for artists and creators in a difficult financial situation.
The newly established Fund for the Support of Professional Artists will be the source of funding for subsidies for social security contributions and health insurance.
On the day of the conference, Monday, October 21, the Ministry of Culture announced that it would submit an application to initiate legislative work on the bill. The planned public consultations are scheduled to begin in November 2024.
More information on the act and the legislative work schedule is available on the Ministry's website: https://www.gov.pl/web/kultura/zabezpieczymy-artystow-i-tworcow---rozpoczynamy-prace-legislacyjne-nad-projektem-ustawy-o-zabezpieczeniu-spolecznym-artystow-zawodowych
It is also worth mentioning that the preparation of the draft law was preceded by talks with communities and the preparation of a new edition of the study entitled “Counted and Counting 2024. Artists, creators and performers in Poland”, which was commissioned by the Ministry and carried out by the Centre for Research on the Creative Economy of the SWPS University under the direction of Prof. Dorota Ilczuk.
The most important findings of the study are as follows:
- The community of artists, creators and performers in Poland numbers approx. 62,400 people (2,500 more than in 2018);
- The average earnings of this occupational group are drastically lower than the national average (the average monthly income from artistic work in 2023 was PLN 4,053 gross, while the average monthly salary in Poland was PLN 7,155 gross);
- Income below the poverty line is a reality for as many as 29% of artists (by comparison, 9% of the general population);
- As many as 50% of the workers earn less than the minimum wage;
- Only 1.9% of people working in the arts earn high wages above the wealth threshold;
- Only 8% of the respondents have a permanent full-time job;
- More than half of the respondents work on civil law contracts.
Read the full report here:
https://swps.pl/images/DOKUMENTY/Policzone_policzeni_2024_Raport_ONLINE-4.pdf