Thanks, Paddy.
Thank you, Madam Chair and members of the committee, for the opportunity to speak to you today.
My name is Grant McConnell. I work as a visual artist in Saskatoon, where I also teach studio art and Canadian art history part time at the University of Saskatchewan and the affiliated St. Peter's College. I've been a member of Canadian Artists’ Representation for 40 years, and served two terms as president and national spokesperson of that organization. I'm currently a member of the board of Access Copyright.
Copyright Visual Arts asked me to speak here today as a working artist. It's from that perspective that I'll address some of the issues currently before you.
I am not an A-list artist. You probably don't recognize my name or know my work. Although I've had moderate success exhibiting in public and commercial galleries over the last 35 years, I could describe my working life as being that of an average-income artist. For my art practice, many years I would make close to that $24,000 figure referred to in the written brief.