Artists Space

Marion Von Osten: Be Creative!

Talk & Discussion
November 8, 2012, 7pm

For the third in a series of public forums contributing to W.A.G.E. and Artists Space’s Research Partnership, curator, artist and writer Marion von Osten will give a presentation on the current conditions of artist’s labor in relation to the formation of creative and cultural industries.

A yellow stamp reading, "W.A.G.E." overlaid with pink text reading, "Working Artists and the Greater Economy."
[A yellow stamp reading, "W.A.G.E." overlaid with pink text reading, "Working Artists and the Greater Economy."]

Artists Space : Books & Talks
55 Walker Street
Free Event

The presentation from Marion von Osten, and responses from Andrew Ross, will be preceded by a brief presentation by W.A.G.E. summarizing recent developments in the conception of W.A.G.E. Certification, an initiative that aims to ‘certify’ nonprofit organizations and museums that follow an established best practices model, and pay artist fees meeting a minimum payment standard. The presentations and following discussion will look to locate W.A.G.E.’s advocacy for the payment of artist fees by non-profit art institutions in a broader discourse around the economies of creative labor.

Marion Von Osten has produced numerous texts and projects plotting the evolution of artist’s work as a model for neo-liberal economies, including the exhibition Be Creative! The Creative Imperative (Museum für Gestaltung Zürich, 2002); the research and event based project Atelier Europa (Kunstverein Munich, 2004); and the recent text “Unpredictable Outcomes / Unpredictable Outcasts: On Recent Debates over Creativity and the Creative Industries” from Critique of Creativity (Mayfly books, 2011).


Andrew Ross is a Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at NYU. Ross’s research analyzes contemporary labor, the urban economic landscape and the organization of work. His books include No-Collar: The Humane Workplace and Its Hidden Costs (Basic Books, 2002), Low Pay, High Profile: The Global Push for Fair Labor (New Press, 2004) and Nice Work If You Can Get It: Life and Labor in Precarious Times (NYU Press, 2009).