Rates of pay for artists
This guide is for artists and people who are paying artists to negotiate a fair rate of pay for short-term work such as commissions, residencies, workshops and community projects. For specific advice on payments for exhibitions, see a-n’s Exhibition Payment Guide.
Our rates provide a general guide to fees and payments – we recommend that you take account of your unique circumstances and overheads when preparing quotes for work.
| Experience level | Annual income excluding overheads | Day rates with overheads £5k per annum | Day rates with overheads £10k per annum | Day rates with overheads £15k per annum |
| New graduate | £30,523 | £204 | £236 | £269 |
| 1 year | £32,288 | £215 | £246 | £278 |
| 2 years | £34,926 | £229 | £261 | £294 |
| 3 years | £37,269 | £243 | £275 | £307 |
| 4 years | £39,203 | £253 | £286 | £318 |
| 5 years | £40,804 | £262 | £295 | £327 |
| 6 years | £42,570 | £272 | £304 | £337 |
| 7 years | £44,339 | £283 | £314 | £346 |
| 8 years | £46,107 | £293 | £325 | £356 |
| 9 years | £47,870 | £302 | £335 | £367 |
| 10 years* | £49,639 | £312 | £345 | £377 |
* For artists with more than 10 years' experience, their rate will depend on other external factors such as their art world track record and/or unique attributes and market forces
These rates:
- reflect artists’ career stage, experience level and overheads
- take account of the nature and costs of self-employment
- align artists’ practices with comparable professions
- exclude project-specific expenses and VAT (where applicable
Day rates are based on 177 paid days’ work for an artist per year, which takes into account time spent:
- pitching and tendering for work
- studio and research time
- training and professional development time
- administration and accounting
- illness
- family commitments
- holidays
