abramovic
(durational performance, 2014 - Present)
It is important that established, successful artists lead the way in asserting and defending the value of all cultural practitioners, especially those at the very beginning of their creative career who are most vulnerable to being exploited. Only by enshrining fair wages for fair work as a fundamental tenet in cultural activity can art continue to empower and liberate - anything else perpetuates an elite hegemony predicated on class and economic means.
The Marina Abramovic Institute (MAI) is a platform for immaterial and long durational work. After raising over $661,452 during a Kickstarter appeal, the Institute opened in early 2014. On July 31st 2014 the Institute posted an advert seeking volunteer staff members for the following positions:
1) Administrative Volunteer
2) Tech and Production Volunteer
3) Special Projects Volunteer
4) Research Volunteer
In response to this and similar unethical labour practices that are prevelant throughout the cultural sector, this project operates within the same realm of temporality that Marina Abramovic has used as a creative source throughout her career - aggregating the time since these positions became available that I will be working on other things rather than giving my time for free to the Institute. I encourage other cultural pracitioners to do likewise.
