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"I Was Commissioned To Do This Artwork & All I Got Paid Was This Lousy Exposure" by Harriet Richardson




I recently bought a limited-edition print by Harriet Richardson @hatsrichardson created for an exhibition for The Bank of England Museum @boemuseum organised by KesselsKramer London @kesselskramerlondon for the London Design Festival @l_d_f_official I bought it for £34—£28 for the artwork and £6 for shipping. So if you do the math, assuming the artist gets 50%, Harriet will get £14.



Ironically, the exhibition was titled „Currency of The Future” yet the compensation for the artists seems to contradict the physicality of the banknote the Bank of England uses. It feels like a statement on the lack of respect for creativity. Wait... doesn’t it ring a bell? Do you remember the government’s famous advertisement, „Rethink. Reskill. Reboot.”? They wanted to convince creatives to change their professions during the pandemic when everyone was at home developing new hobbies. Ironic, huh?


Yet, we creatives often criticise the art market for how poorly it treats us, but the issue is much bigger. It's not just the art market—it's the world itself. The fact that the Bank of England Museum, of all places, is participating in this devaluation of creative work is heartening. Big institutions and companies are happy to organise exhibitions and profit from them, but they don't cover basic costs like transportation, insurance, or fair artist compensation. It really makes me question how much these corporations and museums truly value art. They want artists to contribute and promote their events but fail to recognise, as Harriet mentioned in her email to KesselsKramer, that the "production costs" involve much more than materials—it's about the time, energy, and creativity that goes into making the work.


KesselsKramer's promotional post for this limited-edition collection, featuring unpaid artists, reads, "Some are featured here, held up by real human hands, but there are many more." It would have been more honest if they had shown the hands of the artists who actually created the work. Another post says, "...in collaboration with 17 artists for @l_d_f_official " which makes me question the meaning of collaboration. True collaboration should involve mutual support and a shared creation process, where both sides bring something of value to the table. I wonder if, after this exhibition and the potential sale of these prints, the artists feel that this was indeed a valuable collaboration.




For me, buying this print is a symbolic middle finger to @kesselskramerlondon and @boemuseum It's not just about owning this artist's print—it's about the conversation she started. It's about Harriet standing up for what she disagrees with.



Harriet, please let me know when, or IF, you ever get paid for that print—whatever they've promised you.


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