In March of 2020, the artist Michele Pred launched The Art of Equal Pay initiative on Equal Pay Day, inviting artists affected by wage gaps to raise their prices by 15 percent for the day. Nearing its year anniversary, Pred has relaunched the campaign calling on artists, once again, to up their rates on March 24, attesting to the ongoing gender and racial pay gaps.
Equal Pay Day falls on the day when women, as an average, have reached the same amount of earnings that their male peers accrued by the end of the previous year. With that amount ranging between 14—19 percent for women in the art world, Pred’s initiative asks individuals, galleries, and institutions alike to take the pledge—this year including participants like Yvette Molina, Mobina Nouri, Tracy Piper, Nancy Hoffman Gallery, Leslie Wallace, Cindy Miscikowski, Maria Jenson, and Project Plus Gallery.
Courtesy of Michele Pred.
With the image of a hot pink dollar bill stamped with the words “EQUAL PAY” created by Pred for the campaign recently minted as an NFT on Opensea, the 2021 iteration of The Art of Equal Pay launched with a special zoom discussion on International Women’s Day, featuring a conversation with Wildcat Ebony Brown, Shantell Martin, Maura Reilly, and Autumn Breon.
“Waiting to change inequity is just wrong,” said Pred. “We all need to take a stand to make the world a better place. Step up now—with your voices and art prices!”
Portrait of Michele Pred by Jeff Vespa.
