Why must artists be poor? | Hadi Eldebek

Prevodilac: Biljana Mokan Lektor: Ivana Korom

I come from a family of five brothers,

U mojoj porodici je nas petoro braće,

all scientists and engineers.

svi naučnici i inženjeri.

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

Pre par godina, poslao sam im sledeći imejl:

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

"Draga braćo, nadam se da ste dobro.

I am emailing to let you know

Pišem vam da bih vas obavestio

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

da napuštam master studije inženjerstva

to pursue a career as a full-time musician.

da bih se potpuno posvetio karijeri muzičara.

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

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

Brother number one replied.

Brat broj jedan je odgovorio.

He was encouraging but a bit skeptical.

Podržao me je ali je bio i sumnjičav.

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

Rekao je: "Želim ti svu sreću.

You're going to need it."

Trebaće ti."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Brother number two was a little bit more skeptical.

Brat broj dva je bio još nepoverljiviji.

He said, "Don't do it!

Rekao je: "Nemoj to da radiš!

This will be the worst mistake of your life.

To će biti najveća greška tvog života.

Find a real career."

Nađi pravu karijeru."

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

I moja ostala braća su bila toliko oduševljena mojom odlukom,

they didn't even respond.

da mi nisu ni odgovorila.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I know that the skepticism coming from my brothers

Znam da je sumnja kod moje braće nastala

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 ostvariti se kao umetnik,

that it will be a challenge.

da će to biti izazov.

And you know what? They were right.

I znate šta? Bili su u pravu.

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

Veliki je izazov biti profesionalni umetnik.

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

Imam toliko prijatelja koji moraju da imaju dodatni 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 taj plan B ponekad postane njihov plan A.

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

I ne doživljavamo ovo samo moji prijatelji i ja.

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

Američki zavod za statistiku navodi da samo deset posto studenata umetnosti

end up working as full-time artists.

živi od te profesije.

The other 90 percent, they change careers,

Ostalih 90%, menjaju karijere,

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

rade u marketingu, trgovini, obrazovanju i ostalim poljima.

But this is not news, right?

Ali ovo nije ništa novo, zar ne?

We almost expect the artist to be a struggling artist.

Izgleda kao da se očekuje od umetnika da se muči.

But why should we expect that?

Ali zašto bi to bilo očekivano?

I read an article in the "Huffington Post"

Čitao sam članak u "Hafingtnon Postu"

saying that four years ago, the European Union

u kojem piše da je pre četiri godine Evropska unija

began the world's largest ever arts funding initiative.

započela najveću svetsku inicijativu za finansiranje umetnosti.

Creative Europe will give 2.4 billion dollars

Kreativna Evropa će dati 2,4 milijarde dolara

to over 300,000 artists.

za preko 300.000 umetnika.

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

U poređenju, budžet Amerike odvojen za naš Nacionalni Fond za Umetnost,

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

koji je najveći invenstitor za umetnost širom Amerike,

is merely 146 million dollars.

iznosi samo 146 miliona dolara.

To put things into perspective,

Da napravimo poređenje,

the US budget for the military marching bands alone

američki budžet samo za vojne bendove

is almost twice as much as the entire NEA.

je gotovo duplo veći od celog NFU budžeta.

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

Još jednu upečatljivu sliku opisuje Brendan MekMahon za "Hafington Post",

saying that out of the one trillion dollar budget

koji kaže da od bilionskog budžeta

for military and defense-related spending,

za vojne i odbrambene troškove,

if only 0.05 percent were allocated to the arts,

ako bi se samo 0,05 procenata odvojilo za umetnost,

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

mogli bismo da platimo puno radno vreme za 20 simfonijskih orkestara

at 20 million dollars apiece,

po 20 miliona dolara za svaki,

and give over 80,000 artists

i da damo preko 80.000 umetnika

an annual salary of 50,000 dollars each.

godišnju platu od 50.000 dolara svakom.

If that's only 0.05 percent,

Ako je to samo 0,05 posto,

imagine what a full one percent could do.

zamislite šta bi uradio ceo procenat.

Now, I know we live in a capitalist society,

Naravno, znam da živimo u kapitalističkom društvu,

and profits matter a lot.

i da je profit jako bitan.

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

Hajde da pogledamo situaciju iz finansijskog ugla.

The US nonprofit arts industry

Američka neprofitna umetnička industrija

generates more than 166 billion dollars in economic activity,

proizvodi više od 166 milijardi dolara kroz ekonomsku aktivnost,

it employs 5.7 million people

zapošljava 5,7 miliona ljudi

and it returns 12.6 billion dollars

i ima povraćaj od 12,6 milijardi dolara

in tax revenue.

kroz porez.

But this is only a financial angle, right?

Ali ovo je samo finansijski ugao, zar ne?

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

Svi znamo da umetnost ima mnogo veću vrednost od finansijske.

The arts brings meaning to life.

Umetnost donosi životu smisao.

It's the spirit of our culture.

Ona je duh kulture.

It brings people together and it supports creativity

Ona spaja ljude i podstiče kreativnost

and social cohesion.

i zajedništvo društva.

But if the arts contributes this much to our economy,

Ali ako umetnost doprinosi ekonomiji u tolikoj meri,

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

zašto i dalje ulažemo tako malo u umetnost i umetnike?

Why do more than 80 percent of our schools nationwide

Zašto se više od 80 posto naših škola širom zemlje i dalje

still experience budget cuts in arts education programs?

suočava sa smanjivanjem budžeta za programe iz oblasti umetnosti?

What is it about the value of arts and artists

Šta je to u vrednosti umetnosti i umetnika

that we still don't understand?

što još uvek ne razumemo?

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

Ja verujem da sistem ima mane i da uopšte nije fer,

and I want to help change that.

i želim da pomognem da se to promeni.

I want to live in a society

Želim da živim u društvu

where artists are more valued

u kojem se umetnici više cene

and have more cultural and financial support

i imaju veću kulturološku i finansijsku podršku

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

da bi mogli da prave umetnost umesto što moraju da voze taksi

or take corporate jobs they'd rather not have.

ili prihvate poslove u firmama koje radije ne bi radili.

There are other sources of income for artists, however.

Ipak, postoje i drugi izvori primanja za umetnike.

There are private foundations,

Postoje privatne fondacije,

grants and patrons who give money,

stipendije i donatori koji daju novac,

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

samo što velika većina umetnika ne zna za ove mogućnosti.

On one side you have institutions and people with money.

Sa jedne strane tu su institucije i ljudi sa novcem.

On the other side you have artists seeking funding,

Sa druge tu su umetnici koji traže ulaganja,

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

ali umetnici ne znaju za ljude sa novcem,

and the people with the money don't necessarily know

a ljudi koji imaju novac ne znaju nužno

about the artists out there.

za umetnike.

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

Zbog toga sam veoma uzbuđen da podelim sa vama "Grantpa,"

an online platform that uses technology

onlajn platformu koja koristi tehnologiju

to match artists with grants and funding opportunities

i povezuje umetnike sa stipendijama i opcijama finansiranja

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

na način koji je lak, brz i nije komplikovan.

Grantpa is only one step towards solving an existing problem

"Grantpa" je na samo korak od rešavanja egzistencijalnog problema

of funding inequality,

nejednakosti finansiranja,

but we need to work collectively on multiple fronts

ali moramo da delujemo zajedno na više frontova

to reevaluate how we view the artists in our society.

da procenimo kako vidimo umetnike u našem društvu.

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

Da li gledamo na umetnost kao na luksuz ili potrebu?

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

Da li razumemo šta se dešava u svakodnevici umetnika,

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

ili i dalje verujemo da su umetnici, ma koliko se mučili,

are happy simply because they're following their passion?

srećni samo zato što rade ono što vole?

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

Za nekoliko godina, planiram da pošaljem braći sledeći imejl:

"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 obavestim da mi ide odlično

and so are hundreds of thousands of artists

i još stotini hiljada umetnika

who are being valued more culturally and financially

koji su cenjeniji kulturno i finansijski

and getting enough funding to focus on their crafts

i imaju dovoljan budžet da bi se posvetili svojim veštinama

and create more art.

i proizvodili više umetničkih dela.

I appreciate all of your support.

Cenim svu vašu podršku.

Couldn't have done it without you."

Ne bih ovo uspeo bez vas."

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)