April 21, 2010 Arts+Movies » Features

Charleston can't thrive if we expect everything for free 

A Can of Free Worms

by Caroline Millard

I'm a fan of free. We all are. There's been more than one event I've attended just because I received a free ticket. Likewise, I've worked more than once for various groups in Charleston without compensation. It happens.

The problem comes when the free mentality becomes the rule rather than the exception, and this city can't operate for much longer unless we stop expecting free and start not only paying for culture, but paying to support Charleston's fledgling progressive initiative.

The entire scenario is a little bit baffling when you break it down. You walk into a store. You see an item you like, check the price tag, then ask the store clerk if you can just take it with you. Not likely.

So it becomes a little confusing when people expect to attend a cultural event continuously without giving any sort of financial support. As Eye Level Art's resident gallerina, it's an embarrassment how many people expect an open bar at every art opening and free tickets to concerts. Let me be the bad guy by saying this: You're not supporting the arts by showing up and drinking for free.

Yes, attending an event shows support for a talent. Having a warm body in a room, beaming at an artist's new work or applauding when the musician finishes a set, is a wonderful feeling. But at the end of the day if that warm body doesn't offer any kind of financial support, they aren't helping pay rent, they aren't purchasing new guitar strings or paint brushes, and they certainly aren't helping to push Charleston's talent further.

Now, here's the part that might get me blacklisted: Charleston, you have to pay your talent. Charleston's cultural talent — and here I'm talking about the musicians, artists, DJs, models, writers, designers, and other members of the community who add cultural depth — are the most over-worked and under-paid set in a town that prides itself on being a "progressive" city. But what is progressive about this universal expectation that those individuals will work for free?

I've modeled in Charleston for the past two years, and in that time I've seen a fantastic boom in Charleston's creative spirit. The sheer number of designers and fashion events has grown exponentially. But what I've yet to see are any models banking on this style evolution. To work without compensation is not an exception to the rule — it is the rule. And if you're not willing to work for free, you can sure bet there will be five other models willing to take your place.

But this plague certainly isn't limited to models. The disgusting expectation that talent will work just for ego-stroking pervades every level of the creative community. Far too often I hear a DJ agreeing to play an event for free. Let me clarify here, I'm not shooting arrows at small events — say a free show in a coffee shop — I'm referring to some of this city's largest cultural events. Events that pull hundreds or occasionally thousands of patrons. It's one thing to do what you love and quite another to be taken advantage of for an event where nine times out of 10 somebody associated with it is taking home a paycheck at the end of the day.

Yes, strong talent must pay their dues to earn a reputable standing within the community. But only to a certain extent. When the collective creative community allows it to be the standard to work with no pay or qualified trade, it devalues the worth of that entire group.

If Charleston's mentality doesn't change, all those people the city relies on to bring something different to an otherwise traditional Southern town are going to leave in hopes of a market that pays for talent. I realize this isn't a transition that will happen anytime soon, but we must make a collective agreement to change our mentality over time. Charleston culture-goers: Buy art. Purchase a concert ticket. Pay your photographers, writers, models, and DJs.

This progressive boom doesn't run on love alone.

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Don't the people of SC, and in this case Charleston pay taxes?
Wouldn't the events be paid for wiith tax revenues of some source?

NE Ohio has "free" concerts from April to September paid for by citizens taxes collected for the park system and county needs. City, state, federal, county: not sure where the money for free concerts comes .....but my point is that it is from one tax or another. There are no admission fees into any of the beautiful parks in NE Ohio, all are free and we have plenty from the most southern tip of Ohio to the most northern point bordering our neighbors.

The question in this case should be, "where did our money go". And if you are not taxed to death like we are in Ohio, then perhaps you should question your elected officials on how "free events" could take place with tax revenue that exists or how to create tax revenue. Nothing in life is free.

Posted by BooBoo on | Report this comment

It is a fine line to walk, for both, how much do you give away?
A business, even a not-for-profit, has to pay the bills and then some.
And nobody rides for free, usually. One may pay with their own particular sweat, time, and volunteer willingly. Others don’t mind a fee, believing it keeps the riff-raff out – I don’t believe this; the riff-raff is the talent, a lot of the time. People that don’t make a pay check, on a regular basis. Working the proverbial odd job to buy art supplies; this type is usually known by the locals and given a pass. With that, I don’t have a problem. These are the people that you want to support, if they have talent - Which is subjective.
If it is an art opening, you want people in the gallery to look at the work. It would be hard to ask for admission or cover charge. But to expect free food and wine, that is a fine line.


Posted by abxart on | Report this comment

Wow, I am shocked to see this level of nonsense come from an individual charged with cultivating relationships in the Charleston community! Hopefully, the patrons spending hundreds and even thousands of dollars on art at your gallery have read this. They are also the people attending said "events". If so, you have done as the above comment clearly states... "Bitten the hand that feeds you", my dear... Savor that large piece because it may be the last one that you are given the opportunity to take. And about that Black List, the ink always runs both ways...

Posted by blammgroup.com on | Report this comment

I think in some ways your right and in others you’re WAY off base. Many times, things are done for charity. Having artist, DJ, catering and other services are given out of the kindness of their hearts. I'm in the IT business. If a nonprofit or charity asked me to provide my services I would, and not expect a dime. If I wanted to be paid I would politely decline do it for free. No harm no foul. To say everyone should be paid always shown you have little to no compassion for folks that put on events to help the less fortunate, inflicted or to raise money for worthy causes. I understand there are many people in Charleston that think they deserve a free drink at a gallery show, or to have music playing at an event. In those cases if you don't want to provide it then don't or charge to get into the event, very simple. But to be ugly and even threaten a black list would be biting the hands that feed you.

Posted by imgammara on | Report this comment

More and more businesses are exploiting the whole concept of "free" to the point of being in violation of Federal law. Check out this link to a recent column in the New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/business…

Excerpt: many employers failed to pay even though their internships did not comply with the six federal legal criteria that must be satisfied for internships to be unpaid. Among those criteria are that the internship should be similar to the training given in a vocational school or academic institution, that the intern does not displace regular paid workers and that the employer “derives no immediate advantage” from the intern’s activities — in other words, it’s largely a benevolent contribution to the intern.

Convinced that many unpaid internships violate minimum wage laws, officials in Oregon, California and other states have begun investigations and fined employers. Last year, M. Patricia Smith, then New York’s labor commissioner, ordered investigations into several firms’ internships. Now, as the federal Labor Department’s top law enforcement official, she and the wage and hour division are stepping up enforcement nationwide.

Posted by Yolatengo on | Report this comment

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