The Art Worker 031
The final days of Contemporary Art League
Since our founding in 2020, the art world landscape has shifted in too many ways to enumerate here, as those of you reading this are aware. All too often, a creative life is still a struggle. Perhaps even more than in the incredibly challenging early months of the global pandemic shutdowns, when we caught the first glimpse of what Contemporary Art League could be and do, art workers in every sector and at every level of the field are often at a loss for how to make ends meet and navigate an opaque and sometimes even hostile professional environment.
There is no question that there is still a need for Contemporary Art League, yet it’s time for CAL to come to an end. The founders always intended to move from a conventional leadership model to a lateral format and cooperatively owned and stewarded organization. Despite concerted work and sincere community-building, this vision has yet to coalesce, so over the past six months, we’ve been gradually winding down our operations.
Everyone reading this contributed something to CAL, and for that we’re eternally grateful. Thank you for your engagement with and commitment to the ideas and work of CAL over the past five years. Our collective work has been impactful, contributing meaningfully to the ever widening view on the lived realities of art workers. Together, we raised awareness about and proposed solutions for art workers' access to health insurance, the financial and professional precarities art workers face, and the obstacles that can foreclose a sustainable creative life.
The sunset of Contemporary Art League does not mean the end of the initiatives we brought to the community:
+ Free, confidential help navigating health insurance continues under its longstanding rubric from the Entertainment Community Fund
+ Free, adaptable contract templates are available online from The Artist's Contract
+ And STUDIO LOAN will live on---stay tuned for updates about this CAL member-founded and member-driven initiative in the months to come.
As you know, there are many organizations working on overlapping and intersecting issues at the core of CAL's call to action. I hope that you will consider staying informed about and getting involved with groups such as Working Artists and the Greater Economy, Arts Union, Los Angeles Artist Census, and Museums Moving Forward.
Reflecting on CAL’s five years of community organizing, we looked back at the 30 previous issues of The Art Worker. Issue 001 brims with ambition that we still find inspiring, so with five years behind us and amid an evermore dynamic field within a rapidly changing world, we’ll leave off right where we started in The Art Worker 001, with a vision to meet the evergreen needs of art workers through services, support, and advocacy. What forms that vision will take going forward remain to be seen, but as long as the current inequities exist, we know this work will continue.
In solidarity (and with love),
Contemporary Art League