| 2002 Administrator Survey Artist Run Centres and Collectives of Ontario Report prepared by Hill Strategies, October 2002 15 artist run centre administrators responded to the 2002 ARCCO Survey, representing 54% of the ARCCO membership. The primary administrative staff person was asked to fill out the survey during the 2002 ARCCO Annual General Meeting. Not all centres were represented at the meeting. This report summarizes the responses to the 2002 survey, including comparisons of administrator working conditions to general labour force data. The summary will start with the most general information about centre activities, and will progress to more specific information about working conditions and administrator professional development preferences. A few comparisons will be made between the 2000 and 2002 Administrator Surveys. 13 centres responded in both survey years. 2 centres responded in 2002 but not in 2000, and 8 centres responded in 2000 but not in 2002. Given these differences, detailed comparisons between the surveys cannot be made. By necessity, therefore, the comparisons presented below are quite general. Centre Budgets, Attendance, Membership and Staffing The 15 centres reporting had combined budgets of $2.5 million. Individual centre budgets ranged from $60,000 to $480,000, with the average budget size being $168,000. For the 14 centres reporting attendance figures, total attendance was nearly 80,000 per year. Attendance ranged from 500 to 12,000, with average attendance per centre of about 5,700. The 15 centres reported having about 2,500 members. Membership at the individual centres ranged from 42 to 550, with the average membership being 165. Nearly 2,100 (or 84%) of the centres’ members are artists. The centres with the largest budgets generally employed more staff members. For example, the centre with the largest budget employed 2 full-time and 5 part-time staff members. This trend was also noted in the summary of the 2000 survey. In total, the 15 centres reporting in 2002 employ 18 full-time and 17 part-time staff people. -3 of the 15 centres (20%) do not employ a full-time staff person. 2 of these centres have only one part-time staff person. -7 of the 15 centres (47%) have only one full-time staff person. In 5 of these centres, this is the only staff person. -5 centres (33%) employ more than one full-time staff person, including one centre with 3 full-time staff people. Administrator Responsibilities Given the small number of staff members at each centre, it is not surprising that the main staff member – the administrator – has a wide range of responsibilities. All 15 of the administrators surveyed are involved in general centre administration and grant applications. Almost all (12-14) of the administrators are also involved in programming, bookkeeping, marketing and promotion. Eight of the administrators are also involved in curating or organizing exhibitions. Almost all administrators reported having other responsibilities, including strategic and business planning, fundraising, staff and volunteer supervision, financial management, community outreach and advocacy, and gallery maintenance. The 15 administrators collectively prepare about 80 grant applications per year, for an average of 5.3 applications per administrator. Given this range of responsibilities, it is not surprising that ARCCO members are interested in a wide range of professional development possibilities, with the highest number (10) reporting interest in publishing. Interest in other professional development opportunities is as follows: -fundraising (9) -marketing (9) -web development (8) -board governance (7) -programming (7) -grant writing (6) -computers (6) Other professional development interests mentioned include human resource management, residencies, and arts accounting for complex budgets. Although 10 of the centres have a budget allotment at their centre for travel for professional development, a number of respondents commented that the amount available is “minimal”, “modest”, “limited” or “spread thinly” over their staff. Administrator Education, Age and Artistic Activity Artist run centre administrators are highly educated: all 15 administrators reporting in 2002 have completed a college or university education. -2 (or 13% of the 15) have completed a college education -8 (or 53%) have completed a university undergraduate program -5 (or 33%) have completed a university graduate program In the 2000 survey, all 21 administrators who responded indicated that they had completed at least a college education, with a slightly higher percentage reporting a graduate level university education than in 2002. It is possible that some of the administrators who indicated having completed a graduate level program in 2000 either were not able to respond in 2002 or had left their centres. 7 of the 15 administrators (47%) reported having an educational background that included both artistic and administrative concentrations. 4 other administrators (27%) have completed an arts-focussed program, and 3 (20%) have completed a program with an administrative concentration. One administrator had a different educational concentration (not indicated). The administrators range in age from 26 to 52. The average age is 41. Almost all of the administrators (14 of 15, or 93%) are practicing artists. This is higher than the 71% of respondents in 2000 who reported being a practicing artist. Administrator Work Hours 11 of the 15 administrators (73%) reported working full-time, while the other 4 administrators (27%) reported working part-time. The percentage of full-time administrators is higher in 2002 (73%) than the percentage reported in 2000 (57%). This may be due to the differences in centres reporting in 2002 vs. 2000, or may indicate a shift to more full-time employment of administrators. 9 of the 11 full-time administrators are paid on a salary basis. 2 part-time administrators are also paid on this basis. 2 full-time administrators and 1 part-time administrator are paid on an hourly basis. One part-time administrator is a volunteer. A number of administrators stated that they were full-time employees but were scheduled for fewer than 30 hours per week (which is Statistics Canada’s definition of full-time). The statistics above reflect administrator interpretations of “full-time”, while the figures below will use 30 hours per week as a benchmark of full-time employment. Paid work time ranges between 20 and 40 hours per week, with an average of 30 hours per week. This is very close to the average of 29 hours reported in the 2000 survey. This indicates that the larger percentage of administrators reporting full-time work in 2002 than in 2000 may just be a function of the differences in centres reporting in the two years. 8 of the 15 administrators (53%) work 30 or more scheduled hours per week. The other 7 administrators (47%) work between 20 and 28 paid hours per week. All 15 administrators reported working extra unpaid hours. This unpaid work time ranged from 4 to 25 hours per week, with an average of 11 hours per week. These results are again very similar to what was found in the 2000 survey. When the paid and unpaid hours are combined, work time ranged from 29 to 60 hours per week and averaged 41 hours per week. Using these combined figures, 14 of the 15 administrators (93%) reported working 30 or more total hours per week (i.e., full-time). The other administrator reported working 29 paid and unpaid hours per week – just under the threshold of full-time work. Administrator Pay In order to compare salary and wage levels between individuals paid on a differing basis (i.e., yearly salary vs. hourly wage), the assumption was made that administrators are paid for 52 weeks per year. Hourly wages for the administrators reporting an annual salary were calculated by dividing the annual salary by 52 (weeks per year) and by the number of paid hours worked per week. Similarly, annual salaries for the administrators reporting an hourly wage were calculated by multiplying the hourly wage by the number of paid hours worked per week and then by 52 (weeks per year). Using the assumption noted above, administrators’ annual salaries ranged between $17,200 and $42,000, with an average yearly income of $27,500. Some of the wage variation can be attributed to the fact that administrators are paid for differing numbers of hours per week. Administrators’ hourly wages ranged from $11 to $28, with an average hourly wage of $18. This average wage is exactly equal to the average hourly wage for non-unionized employees in Canada ($18) . However, only 40% of all non-unionized employees have completed a college or university education (vs. 100% of artist run centre administrators). Also, the average non-unionized hourly wage is for all of Canada, and wages (and the cost of living) are generally higher in Ontario. Given that almost all of the artist run centre administrators have completed at least a university undergraduate program, a more appropriate comparator might be the average annual employment income of Ontarians with a university education. This figure is $45,000. Even the highest paid full-time artist run centre administrator earned less than this average amount. Although it is possible that some administrators could earn income from sources other than artist run centres, including possibly their own artistic activities, it is unlikely that they would make up the 60% gap with the average annual employment income for Ontarians of similar education. Generally, the highest paid administrators tended to: -have full-time, permanent positions; -be located in Toronto; and -have been at their centres for the longest period of time. The lowest paid administrators (based on the hourly wage calculation) tended to work the most unpaid hours per week. Unlike the finding reported in 2000, staff wages do not appear to be strongly correlated with the centres’ budgets. That is, the largest budget centres do not necessarily have the highest paid administrators, while the lowest budget centres do not necessarily have the lowest paid administrators. If all paid and unpaid hours worked are included in the hourly wage calculation, the average hourly wage drops from $18 to about $13. This calculation, which could be called the “effective” hourly wage, varies between $7 and $22. At the low end of this range, the “effective” wage of some artist run centre administrators is around the level of Ontario’s minimum wage ($6.85). Wage Increases and Decreases in the Past 2 Years In terms of wage changes in the past 2 years, 8 of the administrators (53%) have received a wage increase in the past two years. Percentage increases ranged from 2% to 100%. Most of the increases were 5% or less. However, 2 of the administrators reported a decrease in wages or in paid hours, including one who reported a 25% decrease. The average annual income reported in 2002 ($27,500) is about 9% higher than the average of $25,336 reported in 2000. However, it is not clear from these averages how much of this change is “real” and how much is due to the differences in centres reporting between the two surveys. Employment Benefits Only 3 of the administrators responding to the survey (20%) receive health benefits, and the same number receive other work benefits. The 2000 survey found that 33% of the centre administrators reporting in that year received health benefits, and 29% received other benefits. These figures are well less than the percentage of all non-unionized employees in Canada receiving benefits: 45% receive medical benefits, 43% receive dental benefits, and 41% receive life/disability insurance. In addition, 27% of all non-unionized employees in Canada receive an employer-sponsored pension plan. 12 of the administrators expressed some interest in a group health policy, depending upon the benefits and costs of the policy. Administrator Contracts and Length at Centres Of the 13 administrators responding to the length of contract question: -2 have contracts of less than one year (15%); -4 have one-year contracts (31%); -1 has a two-year contract (8%); and -6 are permanent employees (46%). The percentage of administrators having permanent positions is somewhat higher in 2002 (46%) than in 2000 (26%). Again, it is not clear from these percentages how much of this change is “real” and how much is due to the differences in centres reporting between the two surveys. The length of time respondents have worked at their centres ranged from 6 months to 22 years, with an average of just over 4 _ years. These figures are basically the same as those reported in 2000. ARCCO Forum Preferences Some administrators marked multiple answers to the “Forum preferences” questions. The totals will therefore be greater than 15. Administrators expressed a preference for a forum during April or May (10 administrators) rather than between September and December (4) or between January and March (2). A similar preference was expressed for a forum between Monday and Wednesday (11) rather than between Wednesday and Friday (5) or on the weekend (4). Overall, the administrators did not express strong preferences between the possible forum formats that they would be interested in attending: -11 of the administrators indicated an interest in workshops; -10 administrators indicated an interest in presenters (with an open forum); -9 administrators indicated an interest in round table discussions; and -8 administrators indicated an interest in panel discussions. Websites and Newsletters All of the 12 centres with a website expressed an interest in having a link from the ARCCO site. 13 of the centres reported having a newsletter. Collectively, the centres produce 63 newsletters per year, with an average of 4.8 newsletters per centre. Some of the centres reported producing (or moving towards) electronic newsletters rather than paper versions. Endnotes 1) Statistics Canada. Perspectives on Labour and Income, September, 2002, p. 3. 2) Statistics Canada. 1996 Census Nation Tables, as reported at http://www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/labor50b.htm. 3) Statistics Canada. Perspectives on Labour and Income, August, 2002, p. 5-6.
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