Artists' Resources:
Canada Council for the Arts
Defining 'Professional Visual Artists'

Saint John Arts Centre is proud to offer free exhibit space to visual artists across a broad range of experience and disciplines, welcoming professionals and 'part-time' artists alike, with a special mandate to support emerging artists.

In an effort to support professional artists, we present some helpful information and links to further resources, such as the Canada Council for the Arts.

What is a 'Professional Visual Artist'?
(sourced from the Canada Council for the Arts website)

The Canada Council for the Arts definition of a professional visual artist, used to determine elegibility for grants, states that a professional artist is an artist who:

• has specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
• is recognized as such by his or her peers
• is committed to devoting more time to artistic activity, if financially feasible.

To meet the above definition of a professional visual artist, you must have:

• produced an independent body of work
• maintained an independent professional practice for at least three years after receiving specialized training.
• made at least three public presentations of work in a professional visual arts context over a three year period

Professional Context
Artists’ public presentations and exhibitions, both in Canada and abroad, must be in a professional visual arts organization or context where the artists work is recognized by a professional curator, gallery owner/art dealer, or collective of professional artists.

In Canada, to be considered professional, an organization must be a public art gallery, a museum or an artist-run centre that pays a professional fee to participating artists. The condition of paying fees does not apply to commercial galleries or professional venues outside Canada.

The Canada Council for the Arts recognizes that, for contemporary visual artists from Aboriginal as well as culturally diverse communities and, in rare cases, artists living in remote areas, the networks for peer recognition and exhibition venues may exist in alternative professional contexts. The acceptance of alternative professional contexts will be determined with the expertise of Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities in the Visual Arts Section and, if necessary, in collaboration with peers in the milieu.

Note: Exhibitions and public presentations in venues that do not have a mandate in the visual arts (coffee shops, restaurants, libraries, etc.) are not considered to be professional visual arts venues.

Read more at the Canada Council website: http://www.canadacouncil.ca

Below is Arts NB's definition:

A Professional Artist:

• Is an individual who has specialized training in an artistic discipline (not necessarily in academic institutions), and who is recognized as such by her or his peers (artists working in the same artistic discipline), who is committed to devoting more time to the artistic activity if financially feasible, and who has a history of public presentation in a professional context.
• Practices an art and offers services in exchange for remuneration as a creator, as a performer, or as a director in one or more of the following arts disciplines: theatre, dance, music, visual arts, literary arts, craft, or media arts.

 To qualify as a Professioanl Artist, check 3 of the following criteria, including ONE of those set out in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, or 4:

1. The artist receives or has received remuneration for works, notably in the form of sales, royalties, commissions, fees, residuals, grants, or awards that can reasonably be considered an integral part of the income that the artist earns from his/her professional activity;

2. The artist has made earnings or suffered losses resulting from the exploitation of his/her works and corresponding to the whole of his/her artistic career;

3. The artist has received tokens of professional recognition from the public or peers, notably honorable mentions, awards, bursaries, or critical attention in the media for his/her work;

4. The artist has earned a degree, diploma or certificate in fine arts or creative writing from a recognized institution;

5. The artist has presented works to the public through exhibitions, performing arts activities, publications in book form or in periodicals, invited readings, production and/or broadcast of creative scripts by theatre, radio, or television, showings, or any other means corresponding to the nature of the works;

6. The artist is represented by an art dealer, a publisher, an agent, or other similar representative, depending on the nature of his/her activity;

7. The artist has signed a service contract with a producer;

8. The artist devotes a reasonable percentage of his/her professional activity to promoting and marketing works, attending auditions, seeking patrons or agents, submitting work to publishers, magazines, theatres, radio, and television, and other similar efforts, depending on the nature of his/her activities.