Praxis: The Artists' Union of Ireland is an Irish

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

for professional artists. It affiliated to

SIPTU SIPTU (; ''Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union''; ) is Ireland's largest trade union, with around 200,000 members. Most of these members are in the Republic of Ireland, although the union does have a Northern Ireland District ...

in 2024.
PRAXIS: THE ARTISTS’ UNION OF IRELAND: Election Information for Candidates (2024)
'

History

Praxis was founded in its original form during 2020, with approximately 100 founder members; it was launched publicly as a trade union in March 2021. According to the ''

Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

'', its aims are "to unite artists, increase recognition of their role in Irish society and ensure better pay and conditions." Its first initiative was to campaign against the Arts Council’s existing funding application process. At the time of its launch, a Praxis spokesperson stated that Arts Council funding applications can last for several months, and that many of these applications are unsuccessful. A resolution urging the governing organisation to enhance their application procedure and prioritise artists was approved at the Praxis AGM in February 2021. The artists' union was interested in combining with an existing union in the future, according to their Communications Officer, Azzy O'Connor, who stated that this was essential in order for Praxis to obtain recognition. However, the group had not yet deliberated regarding which union it wished to join. O'Connor declared that artists' conditions of employment had not improved following the onset of the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. In 2022, ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'' praised Praxis for its role in lobbying for the creation of the Basic Income for Arts pilot scheme (BIA). It declared that "Praxis, the newly established union for artists, should be commended for getting the scheme over the line." In 2023, the union was critical of the Arts Council erroneously announcing the receipt of a "life-changing" award to 141 artists. In 2024, Praxis announced that it completed its affiliation to

References

{{reflist

History

References

See also