Today we are witnessing the limitations of an entrepreneurial state driven by the neoliberal logics. The three crises that we are enduring—public health, social and economic—have shone a light on the paradox of labour and embedded reality of artists. In testing times such as these and to envisage a path forward we need to understand where we are now and how did we get to the present crisis? How did the systemic evolution of the cultural labour market premised on the introduction of competition saw the subsequent transformation of artists into cultural entrepreneurs?

This keynote will highlight the political economy of the labour of artists and explore the options as to whether we go for a reset or reinvent a new way forward.

Zainub Verjee is the laureate of 2020 Governor General’s Visual and Media Arts for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Canada. She is currently involved in the national campaign on Basic Income and is the co-author of the public letter to the Prime Minister of Canada on Basic Income Guarantee.

An artist, critic, a writer, a keynote speaker, arts administrator with expertise in cultural policy and cultural diplomacy, over four decades she has contributed to international and national policies and legislation pertaining to the culture sector including the international instruments like the Status of the Artists and Cultural Diversity. She continues to work on issues of Artist Labour, Artist Income, Racial Equity, Cultural Planning, Intellectual Property, Digital Ecosystems of Art, Cultural Institutions, Cultural Diplomacy and Culture Trade.  Former Executive Director of the Western Front, her work on the British Columbia Arts Board led to the formation of British Columbia Arts Council, as well as she has contributed to the formation of many other institutions. An active member of civil society, she was the Vancouver Moderator of the Spicer Commission – The Citizen’s Forum on Canada’s Future. Currently, she is the executive director of the Ontario Association of Art Galleries in Toronto.

Presented by Arts Network Ottawa in partnership with Wallack's, Invest Ottawa and Shifter Agency