Grade by Grade
B. Drama / D. Visual Arts · Drama and Visual Arts

Visual Arts: Social, Political and Economic Factors in the Art World

D3.2 D2.4 D2.1 D1.1About 50 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can identify and analyse social, political and economic factors that affect the creation of visual and media arts and the arts community.
  • I can explain how artists earn a living and how art is funded in Canada.
  • I can interpret the issues and social concerns an art work conveys, and plan an art work that responds to a factor I care about.
  • I can identify and explain my strengths, interests and areas for improvement as a creator, interpreter and viewer of art.

Words to know

factor
Something that influences how or whether something happens.
grant
Money given (not loaned) to an artist or organization for a project, often by a government arts council.
commission
An agreement where someone pays an artist to create a specific art work.
copyright
The legal right of creators to control how their original work is copied and used.
censorship
Blocking or removing art or information that someone in power does not want people to see.
public art
Art made for public spaces, such as murals, sculptures in parks or art in transit stations.
artist-run centre
A gallery or studio space run by artists, often non-profit, that shows new and experimental work.
artist's statement
A short piece of writing in which an artist explains their work, ideas and process.

Remember from Grade 7

In Grade 7 you explored the functions of art today and in the past, and how art shapes personal and cultural identity. You also reflected on your strengths as a creator, interpreter and viewer.

In Grade 8 you'll look behind the scenes: the social, political and economic factors that affect what art gets made, who gets to make it, and who gets to see it. You'll finish with a deeper self-reflection to take with you to high school.

Who pays for a mural?

Think of a mural on a wall in your town or a sculpture in a park. Someone designed it. Someone bought the paint. Someone rented the lift. Someone said "yes" to putting it there. Someone decided what it should show.

Art doesn't appear by magic. It's shaped by money, decisions, laws and communities. Knowing these factors helps you understand the art you see, and someday, maybe, get your own art made.

A large colourful mural of swirls and flowers on a brick wall, with a scissor lift, paint cans and drop cloths in front.
A mural needs paint, a lift, permission and someone to pay for it. Economic and political factors shape what public art gets made. AI-generated image
An art workand its artistSOCIALwho can see and make artsocial media audiencescommunity needsPOLITICALgovernment funding choiceslaws: copyright, free speechapprovals for public artECONOMICcost of materials and spaceincome: sales, grants, feestourism and the art market
Three kinds of factors that affect the creation of visual and media arts. Each one shapes what artists make, how they make it, and who gets to see it.

Economic factors

  • Materials and space: paint, canvas, cameras, software and studio space all cost money. Some art forms (bronze sculpture, film) are very expensive; others (drawing, phone photography) are more affordable.
  • How artists earn income: selling work, commissions, teaching, design jobs, prizes and grants. Many artists combine several of these.
  • Public funding: the Canada Council for the Arts, created in 1957, and provincial councils such as the Ontario Arts Council, give grants to artists and arts organizations. Galleries, museums and artist-run centres also depend on funding, memberships and donations.
  • The art market: some art works sell for very high prices, but most artists earn modest incomes.

Political factors

  • Government decisions about funding, schools and public spaces affect what art is made and seen.
  • Laws: copyright protects artists' work; free expression protects the right to make art about difficult issues, within the law. In some places and times, governments have used censorship to ban art or arrest artists.
  • Art and power: governments and leaders have commissioned art to tell the story they want, and artists have used art to protest and question power.
  • A Canadian example: from 1885 to 1951, the federal Indian Act banned the potlatch, an important ceremony of First Nations on the Northwest Coast. Many masks and other ceremonial objects were taken from Kwakwaka'wakw families. Some have since been returned and are cared for today by the community at the U'mista Cultural Centre in Alert Bay, British Columbia. Political decisions affected an entire community's art and ceremonies, and the community continues this work today.

Social factors

  • Access: who can visit galleries, take art classes, or afford supplies? Free admission days, library programs and school art classes widen access.
  • Technology and social media: artists can now reach audiences directly online. At the same time, new tools such as AI image generators raise questions that people are debating right now, such as how artists' work is used and credited.
  • Community needs and values: communities ask for art that reflects them, such as murals celebrating local history or art by and for newcomers, youth or Indigenous communities.
Community mural budget: $10,000$5,000 (50%)$2,000$1,500artist feespaint and supplieslift rentalworkshops $1,000permits, insurance $500
A made-up budget for a $10,000 community mural, drawn to scale. Half pays the artists for their time and skill; the rest covers paint, equipment, workshops with neighbours, and permits and insurance.
Worked example

Example: Analysing the factors behind a community mural

Let's analyse the factors behind a (made-up) mural project in a small Ontario town: a 20-metre mural on the wall of the arena, showing the town's history.

  1. Economic: the town and a local business each paid half of the $10,000 budget. The artists were paid fairly for their time. A lift had to be rented, a big cost.
  2. Political: town council had to approve the design. Some councillors wanted only the town's founding families shown; others asked for more voices.
  3. Social: the artists ran workshops where residents shared stories. The final mural includes Anishinaabe artists' work about the land, newcomers' stories, and the town's hockey history.
  4. Effect on the art: because of community workshops and debate, the mural shows many perspectives, not just one.
  5. Interpretation: the mural says the town's identity belongs to everyone who lives there, a social concern about belonging.

Analysing social, political and economic factors explains why an art work looks the way it does and whose stories it tells.

Worked example

Example: A Grade 8 self-reflection

At the end of the year, Sam reflects as a creator, interpreter and viewer of art.

  1. As a creator, strength: "My hatched lighthouse had a full value range; I solved the balance problem with visual weight."
  2. As a creator, area to improve: "My figures still have short legs. I'll measure in head units before drawing."
  3. As an interpreter, strength: "I can support an interpretation with evidence, like the yellow boot as a colour accent."
  4. As a viewer, interest: "I'm interested in public art and murals, and I want to learn how artists get commissions."
  5. Next step for Grade 9: "Take the visual arts course in high school and keep a sketchbook of ideas."

A strong reflection names specific strengths, interests and areas for improvement in all three roles, with evidence from real work, and sets a next step.

Talking about money and art

  • Artists are workers. Asking an artist to make something "for exposure" instead of pay is not fair.
  • Respect copyright: credit artists and don't copy their work as your own.
  • If you share your own art online, ask a grown-up about privacy settings and who can see it.
Just for fun

Funny but true: in Canada, the doodle in the margin of your math notebook is protected by copyright the moment you draw it, if it is your own original work. No forms, no fees. (Your math teacher may still want the margins for math.)

Hands-on activity

Follow the factors

You need: paper, a pencil, coloured pencils, and (optional, with a grown-up) the internet or a walk around your neighbourhood.

  1. Find a public art work near you (a mural, sculpture, statue, art in a library or transit station), in person or on your town's website.
  2. Factor web: draw a web like the one above. Write at least one social, one political and one economic factor that may have affected it. (Look for a plaque, a website or a news story.)
  3. Budget it: plan a $1,000 budget for a small mural at your school. Include artist fees, supplies, equipment and anything else. Make sure it adds up to exactly $1,000.
  4. Plan a response: sketch an art work that responds to a factor you care about (for example, access to art for kids in your town). Show at least two viewpoints.
  5. Reflect: choose three pieces from this year (drawings, photos of projects). Write a reflection as a creator, interpreter and viewer, with one strength, one interest and one area for improvement.
  6. Artist's statement: write 4 or 5 sentences about your best piece this year.

Your turn

1

Name the three kinds of factors that affect the creation of art, with one example each.

2

What is a grant, and who gives arts grants in Canada?

3

What is a commission?

4

How does copyright protect artists?

5

How did the potlatch ban (1885–1951) affect First Nations art on the Northwest Coast?

6

Name two ways artists earn income.

7

What three roles do you reflect on in visual arts?

More practice: warm-up

1

In what year was the Canada Council for the Arts created?

2

What is public art?

3

True or false: all artists earn very high incomes.

4

What is censorship?

5

What is an artist's statement?

More practice: on your own

1

In the mural budget, what percent of $10,000 is the lift rental? Show your thinking.

2

Explain how social media is both an opportunity and a challenge for artists.

3

Why might a town council's political debate change what a public mural shows?

4

Why do artist-run centres matter to the arts community?

5

Write one reflection sentence as a viewer of art.

Challenge

1

Plan a $1,000 budget for a small school mural, with at least four categories that add to exactly $1,000. Explain one choice.

2

Analyse how one factor (social, political or economic) could change the art made in your community over the next ten years.

3

Write a Grade 8 reflection that includes a strength, an interest and an area for improvement in all three roles, with evidence.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which is an economic factor?

2.

The Canada Council for the Arts was created in ___.

3.

A commission is ___.

4.

Copyright gives creators ___.

5.

Town council approving a mural design is a ___ factor.

6.

Which is a strong self-reflection?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 8 students identify and analyse social, political and economic factors that affect the creation of visual and media arts and the arts community (D3.2), identify and explain their strengths, interests and areas for improvement as creators, interpreters and viewers (D2.4), interpret the social concerns art conveys (D2.1) and create art that shows awareness of multiple viewpoints (D1.1).

About the potlatch ban: the lesson mentions it briefly as a political factor that affected First Nations art. If your child has questions, the U'mista Cultural Centre's own website is a good, community-led source.

How to help:

  • Visit a public art work or local gallery (many have free days) and read the plaque together.
  • Talk about how people in your own work or community are paid, and why fair pay for artists matters.
  • Look over this year's art together and celebrate growth before choosing a Grade 9 course.

Common difficulties:

  • Only one kind of factor. Ask, "Who decided? Who paid? Who gets to see it?"
  • Budgets that don't add up. Add the categories together and check.
  • Vague reflections. Ask for an example from a real piece.