There are many misconceptions about ‘the voluntary sector,’ including the fact that those who work in it are all volunteers, or that because we love what we do so much and are dedicating our working lives to making social change of some kind, that we should be paid a pittance or indeed work for free. These ideas often also translate to artists. Why would artists, who love what they do so much, need to be paid? Are they not doing it for the love of the art itself? Well, obviously, and I do realise I am preaching to the converted here, artists, like everyone else, deserve to be paid for their hard work, dedication, skill, knowledge and compassion. We strive to ensure that all the artists who are leading our projects and programmes and have a huge responsibility working within social practice, are paid a fair and competitive wage. My biggest frustration as the Director of such an organisation is that often we don’t have the financial means to be able to pay permanent and freelance staff higher wages that are comparable to other industries and sectors. I’m not sure this will ever change, however I am a huge advocate of our ‘wealth’ not being evidenced in terms of how much money we have, but rather in terms of wellbeing, equality and our environmental impact. More on this next time!