Earlier this year, SÍM (The Association of Icelandic Visual Artists) formed a new working group to prepare the ground for agreements between galleries and exhibiting artists.
The groups’ task is to develop a proposal for wage agreements for artists exhibiting in museums in Iceland, operated or sponsored by the state or by local authorities. It is intended that such a proposal should include: wage standards for solo and group exhibitions; the minimum time standards underlying wage agreements; and cover material costs. The working group will take into account the wage standard in agreements in the Nordic region (such as the Swedish MU Agreement) and other countries which the group considers are comparable with the terms for Icelandic artists.
The working group has had meetings with many of the state run galleries in the country, both in the capital and the smaller towns, as part of the preparations for forming an agreement for exhibiting artists. The Ministry of Education and Culture was invited to appoint a representative in the group, as were the Association of Local Authorities in Iceland. Alas, both have declined.
The group members are optimistic that they will be able to reach an agreement with the galleries/exhibition halls, and hope that the Ministry will assist in their endeavour.