The Politics of Art

I have wanted to do this for a long time and finally I have set the ball rolling. Other artists are joining in too.
As artists we are probably the most disorganised and worst represented interest group in Maltese society. We have no unions to defend our interests and no professional body exists that represents our work. Yet, we continuously hear of the need of a cultural policy and of how important Art and Culture are to our islands. But do we hear about artist’s rights? Do we hear about legislation to protect us and our work? Unfortunately, we seldom do. Most of us do not even know what rights we already have and how existing legislation protects us. What about other countries? What’s happening in the rest of Europe? What rights do artists in other countries have, are they better protected?......