In Poland, artists have used a traditional tool to advocate for and obtain fair compensation: unionizing. While the artists’ union is not officially recognized by the state, it has successfully obtained better pay for artists from galleries and grant funders and led a 2012 strike.

In response to the low percentage of artists who are paid—even by large, prestigious museums—for exhibiting their work, the organization Working Artists and the Greater Economy (WAGE) advocates for fair pay for artists. This is done primarily by a “certification” program that calculates fair compensation for an artist based on the exhibiting institution’s operating budget and the type of labor executed by the artist.

The organization Working Artists and the Greater Economy (WAGE) works with non-profit arts organizations to establish fair payment for artists. WAGE established a fee structure for 15 categories of artistic labor with a sliding scale based on the organization’s total operating expenses. Organizations that adhere to the fee structure are WAGE ‘certified.’

Developed out of an Arts & Labor working group during Occupy Wall Street, the Art Handlers Alliance (AHA) advocates for fair compensation and improved hiring practices for art handlers. Using a “bill of rights” as a template, the AHA has been part of negotiations between employers and unions that represent some art handlers—such as the Teamsters—and obtained for workers increased compensation and benefits.