(Montreal, May 22, 2012) The Artist-Run Centres and Collectives Conference(ARCA) welcomes the publication of the Burgess Report, a study titled The Distinct Role of Artist-Run Centres in the Visual Arts Ecology by MDR Burgess Consultants. Commissioned by the Research and Evaluation Section of Canada Council for the Arts, the study’s goal is to provide the Canada Council, and by extension, the visual arts milieu, with a deeper understanding of the roles and characteristics of artist-run centres (ARCs).

In fall 2009, Dr. Guy Bellavance of INRS was mandated to undertake a critical review of existing literature on the visual arts in Canada. The results of this exhaustive study were published in winter 2011. Dr. Bellavance’s work should enable us to identify gaps in existing research on the visual arts, and find solutions to address these.

In the fall of 2009, in collaboration with our colleagues from the Independent Media Arts Alliance (IMAA), ARCA conducted a survey of working conditions in the artist-run centres’ network. The results of this study, the first of its kind on the national level, were intended to help workers of artist-run centres better communicate their needs »»

This survey was conducted by ARCA in the fall of 2007 at the request of CARFAC in order to establish the importance of artist fees paid by artist-run centres in relation to their overall budget.