Why must artists be poor? | Hadi Eldebek

Prevoditelj: Vilma Milatić Recezent: Ivan Stamenković

I come from a family of five brothers,

U mojoj obitelji nas je petero braće,

all scientists and engineers.

svi znanstvenici i inžinjeri.

A few years ago, I sent them the following email:

Prije nekoliko godina poslao sam im sljedeći mail:

"Dear brothers, I hope this message finds you well.

„Draga braćo, nadam se da ste dobro,

I am emailing to let you know

želim vas obavijestiti

that I'm dropping out of my master's program in engineering

da odustajem od diplomskog studija inžinjerstva

to pursue a career as a full-time musician.

kako bih se u potpunosti posvetio karijeri glazbenika.

All that I ask from you is not to worry about me."

Sve što od vas tražim je da se ne brinete za mene."

Brother number one replied.

Prvi brat je odgovorio.

He was encouraging but a bit skeptical.

Podržao me, ali je bio skeptičan.

He said, "I wish you the best of luck.

Rekao je, „Želim ti svu sreću.

You're going to need it."

Trebat će ti."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Brother number two was a little bit more skeptical.

Drugi brat je bio malo skeptičniji.

He said, "Don't do it!

Rekao je, "Ne radi to!

This will be the worst mistake of your life.

To će ti biti najveća pogreška u životu.

Find a real career."

Nađi pravu karijeru."

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

Well, the rest of my brothers were so enthusiastic about my decision,

Moja ostala braća su bila toliko oduševljena mojom odlukom,

they didn't even respond.

da nisu niti odgovorila.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I know that the skepticism coming from my brothers

Znam da su moja braća bila skeptična

is out of care and concern for me.

jer im je stalo do mene.

They were worried.

Bili su zabrinuti.

They thought it would be difficult to make it as an artist,

Mislili su da će biti teško uspjeti kao umjetnik,

that it will be a challenge.

da će biti izazovno.

And you know what? They were right.

I znate što? Bili su u pravu.

It is such a challenge to be a full-time artist.

Veliki je izazov biti umjetnik na puno radno vrijeme.

I have so many friends who need to have a second job

Imam mnogo prijatelja koji moraju imati drugi posao

as a plan B in order to pay for the bills,

kao plan B da bi platili račune,

except that plan B sometimes becomes their plan A.

samo što plan B ponekad postane plan A.

And it's not just my friends and I who experience this.

Moji prijatelji i ja nismo jedini koji ovo doživljavaju.

The US Census Bureau states that only 10 percent of art school graduates

Američki zavod za statistiku navodi kako samo 10% diplomiranih umjetnika

end up working as full-time artists.

završi radeći taj posao na puno radno vrijeme.

The other 90 percent, they change careers,

Ostalih 90% promijeni zanimanje,

they work in marketing, sales, education and other fields.

rade u marketingu, prodaji, obrazovanju i drugim poljima.

But this is not news, right?

Ali to nije ništa novo, zar ne?

We almost expect the artist to be a struggling artist.

Skoro pa i očekujemo da se umjetnici muče.

But why should we expect that?

Ali zašto bismo to trebali očekivati?

I read an article in the "Huffington Post"

Čitao sam članak u "Huffington Postu"

saying that four years ago, the European Union

koji kaže da je prije četiri godine Europska Unija

began the world's largest ever arts funding initiative.

započela najveću svjetsku inicijativu financiranja umjetnosti.

Creative Europe will give 2.4 billion dollars

Kreativna Europa će dati 2,4 milijarde dolara

to over 300,000 artists.

za preko 300,000 umjetnika.

In contrast, the US budget for our National Endowment for the Arts,

Usporedbe radi, američki budžet za Nacionalni fond za umjetnost,

the largest single funder for the arts across the United States,

koji je najveći financijer umjetnosti u SAD-u,

is merely 146 million dollars.

iznosi samo 146 milijuna dolara.

To put things into perspective,

Da napravimo usporedbu,

the US budget for the military marching bands alone

američki budžet samo za vojne bendove

is almost twice as much as the entire NEA.

skoro je duplo veći od cijelog budžeta NFU.

Another striking image comes from Brendan McMahon for the "Huffington Post,"

Još jedan upečatljiv podatak iznosi Brendan McMahon iz "Huffington Posta,"

saying that out of the one trillion dollar budget

navodeći da kad bi se od trilijunskog budžeta

for military and defense-related spending,

za troškove vojske i obrane,

if only 0.05 percent were allocated to the arts,

samo 0,05% dodijelilo umjetnostima,

we would be able to pay for 20 full-time symphony orchestras

mogli bismo platiti 20 simfonijskih orkestara zaposlenih na puno radno vrijeme

at 20 million dollars apiece,

po 20 milijuna svakome,

and give over 80,000 artists

i za preko 80,000 umjetnika

an annual salary of 50,000 dollars each.

osigurati godišnju plaću od 50,000 dolara.

If that's only 0.05 percent,

Ako je to samo 0,05%,

imagine what a full one percent could do.

zamislite što bi se moglo s cijelih 1%.

Now, I know we live in a capitalist society,

Sada, znam da živimo u kapitalističkom društvu

and profits matter a lot.

i da je profit jako važan.

So let's look at it from a financial angle, shall we?

Pa pogledajmo ovo s financijskog aspekta, hoćemo li?

The US nonprofit arts industry

Američka neprofitna industrija umjetnosti

generates more than 166 billion dollars in economic activity,

stvara više od 166 milijardi dolara kroz ekonomsku aktivnost,

it employs 5.7 million people

zapošljava 5,7 milijuna ljudi

and it returns 12.6 billion dollars

i vraća 12,6 milijardi dolara

in tax revenue.

kroz porez.

But this is only a financial angle, right?

Ali ovo je samo s financijske strane, točno?

We all know that the arts is way more than just an economic value.

Svi znamo da umjetnost nema samo financijsku vrijednost.

The arts brings meaning to life.

Umjetnost donosi smisao životu.

It's the spirit of our culture.

Ona je duh naše kulture.

It brings people together and it supports creativity

Ona spaja ljude i potiče kreativnost

and social cohesion.

te društvenu povezanost.

But if the arts contributes this much to our economy,

Ali ako umjetnost toliko doprinosi našoj ekonomiji,

why then do we still invest so little in arts and artists?

zašto u nju još uvijek ulažemo tako malo?

Why do more than 80 percent of our schools nationwide

Zašto se u više od 80% škola diljem zemlje

still experience budget cuts in arts education programs?

smanjuju budžeti za programe umjetnosti?

What is it about the value of arts and artists

Što to točno o vrijednosti umjetnosti i umjetnika

that we still don't understand?

još uvijek ne razumijemo?

I believe the system is flawed and far from being fair,

Mislim da sustav ima mana i daleko je od pravednog,

and I want to help change that.

stoga želim to pomoći promijeniti.

I want to live in a society

Želim živjeti u društvu

where artists are more valued

koje više cijeni umjetnike

and have more cultural and financial support

te im pruža kulturološku i financijsku potporu,

so they can focus on creating arts instead of being forced to drive Ubers

da se oni mogu fokusirati na stvaranje umjetnosti umjesto da moraju voziti Uber

or take corporate jobs they'd rather not have.

ili prihvatiti korporativne poslove koje radije ne bi radili.

There are other sources of income for artists, however.

Međutim, postoje drugi izvori prihoda za umjetnike.

There are private foundations,

Postoje privatne zaklade,

grants and patrons who give money,

stipendije i pokrovitelji koji daju novac,

except a vast majority of artists don't know about these opportunities.

samo što većina umjetnika nije upoznata s tim prilikama.

On one side you have institutions and people with money.

S jedne strane su institucije i ljudi koji imaju novac.

On the other side you have artists seeking funding,

S druge strane su umjetnici koji trebaju financiranje,

but the artists don't know about the people with the money,

ali umjetnici ne znaju ljude koji imaju novac,

a ljudi koji imaju novac ne znaju nužno umjetnike.

and the people with the money don't necessarily know

about the artists out there.

This is why I am very excited to share "Grantpa,"

Zato sam vrlo uzbuđen podijeliti s vama "Grantpa,"

an online platform that uses technology

online platformu koja koristi tehnologiju

to match artists with grants and funding opportunities

kako bi spojila umjetnike sa stipendijama i prilikama za financiranje

in a way that is easy, fast and less intimidating.

na jednostavan, brz i manje zastrašujuć način.

Grantpa is only one step towards solving an existing problem

Grantpa je samo jedan korak prema rješavanju postojećeg problema

of funding inequality,

nejednakosti financiranja,

but we need to work collectively on multiple fronts

ali moramo zajednički raditi na više aspekata

to reevaluate how we view the artists in our society.

kako bismo promijenili način gledanja na umjetnike u našem društvu.

Do we think of arts as a luxury or a necessity?

Smatramo li umjetnost luksuzom ili potrebom?

Do we understand what goes on in the day-to-day life of an artist,

Razumijemo li što se događa u svakodnevnom životu umjetnika,

or do we still believe that artists, no matter how struggling they are,

ili još uvijek vjerujemo da su umjetnici, bez obzira koliko se muče,

are happy simply because they're following their passion?

sretni samo zato jer slijede svoju strast?

In a few years, I plan to send my brothers the following email:

Za nekoliko godina planiram poslati braći sljedeći mail:

"Dear brothers, I hope this message finds you well.

„Draga braćo, nadam se da ste dobro.

I am emailing to let you know that I am doing great

Pišem vam da vas obavijestim da mi ide odlično,

and so are hundreds of thousands of artists

kao i stotinama tisuća umjetnika

who are being valued more culturally and financially

koje se cijeni više, kulturološki i financijski,

and getting enough funding to focus on their crafts

i financira ih se dovoljno da se mogu posvetiti svojem zanatu

and create more art.

i stvarati umjetnost.

I appreciate all of your support.

Cijenim vašu podršku.

Couldn't have done it without you."

Ne bih mogao uspjeti bez vas."

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)