PREAMBLE

Recognising the importance, significance and nature of artistic work, institutions and artists wish to regulate the matter of remuneration for participation in exhibitions.

In the belief that establishing uniform principles of cooperation will be beneficial for all participants in the art field, the parties enter into this agreement with the aim of regulating minimum remuneration for participation in exhibitions.

The artists’ side is represented by the Civic Forum for Visual Arts – an organisation of individuals creating and working in the field of contemporary art in Poland. The institutional side is represented by directors of cultural institutions in Poland.

The parties accept the terms of the agreement below, bearing in mind:

1. a shift in the perception of artistic work towards recognising it as properly recognised labour – on equal footing with other forms of professional activity carried out by other occupational groups;
2. the urgent need to improve the economic situation – and to secure the basic living needs – of visual artists;
3. the realisation of values shared across the visual arts community, which also include remuneration proportionate to the work performed.

The parties understand this agreement as part of a new social contract between cultural institutions and artists.

This new agreement builds on the agreements concluded in 2014.

AGREEMENT

1.

Institutions declare that they will pay remuneration to artists participating in exhibitions at no less than the levels set out in the provisions below.

The New Agreement on minimum remuneration for participation in exhibitions ties the exhibition fee payable to artists to their artistic work, understood both as the presentation of the outcome of the creative process (what is directly visible in the exhibition) and the creative process itself (as an indispensable component of the artistic activities and works presented).

Given the specific nature of contemporary artistic practice, the basis for calculating the minimum remuneration is the approximate working time required to prepare a given work, expressed in months, with the statutory minimum wage serving as the reference point. The level of fees is therefore indexed in line with the amounts set out in the annual Regulation of the Council of Ministers concerning the minimum wage in Poland.

​​These minimum rates apply to all artists participating in artistic events at Polish institutions, regardless of nationality or place of residence.

This Agreement shall remain in force for an indefinite period, until a new agreement is signed, or until it is terminated through withdrawal from the social contract constituted by this Agreement.

2.

Rates are divided into exhibition categories. The minimum remuneration for participation in an exhibition within a given category is calculated by multiplying the assumed working time required to prepare the work by the statutory minimum wage applicable in the given year, as set out in the annual Regulation of the Council of Ministers.

a) Collective exhibitions

• presentation of an existing work or works by the artist:
  no less than 1/2 month = 1/2 of the minimum wage

• a new work produced for the purposes of the exhibition:
  no less than 2 months of creative work = 2 minimum wages

b) ‘Small’ solo exhibitions (such as ‘project room’)

• including a new work or works:
  no less than 4 months = 4 minimum wages
• composed of existing work(s):
  no less than 3 months = 3 minimum wages

c) ‘Large’ solo exhibitions

• ​​new works and/or a retrospective including new and/or existing works:
  6 months = 6 minimum wages

The above fees do not include other costs, such as production costs, transport, insurance, promotion, travel, or accommodation.

3.

The amounts applicable in 2025, calculated on the basis of the Regulation of the Council of Ministers, constitute an appendix to this Agreement.
In each subsequent year, the indexed amounts will be published on the OFSW website and sent to the signatory institutions.

[translated by Agnes Dudek]