Thank you. I hope everyone can hear me.
I will continue with the thoughts that April has expressed.
Artists are much better paid because of the agreements negotiated under the act. Prior to the agreement, we estimated that the total amount paid by the National Gallery in fees to artists was around $40,000 annually. Today, including during the pandemic, the gallery pays an average of approximately $190,000 annually. Before the pandemic, it was a total of $305 and $776 in fees paid to artists. That means that the National Gallery now pays artists almost five times more for exhibition of their work than before the agreement. It's seven times more for an artist representing Canada at the Venice Biennale, which is the premier international art event.
The gallery did not always pay fees for reproductions of an artist's work before the agreement. Now they pay for all reproductions. They also now pay for the display of works from its permanent collection. Before, they asked artists to waive fee payments for all exhibition and non-commercial reproduction uses of their work in the permanent collection. The gallery also now pays for uses of the artists' work online and on social media platforms, which is unprecedented in the visual arts sector.
Another major achievement is the establishment of fees for the preparation work that an artist undertakes prior to an exhibition, such as correspondence, artist statements, IMS files, installation design and so on. For a major exhibition, this can be up to 400 hours of work.
In summary, the collective agreement under the status act has enabled an average of $190,000 to be paid to artists annually, compared to the average of $40,000 prior to our agreement. This is a significant increase in income for many artists. On average, 180 artists receive fees from the National Gallery annually.
Remember that each year it would be a different group of artists, so over the six years the agreement has been in place, over 1,000 artists have received some sort of fee payment from the National Gallery.