About CARFAC BC

An Overview of CARFAC National and CARFAC BC

CARFAC National

If you have ever been paid an artist fee for exhibiting your work, you have likely benefited from the work of CARFAC (Canadian Artists’ Representation / Le Front des Artistes Canadiens). Founded in 1968 by artists including the late Jack Chambers, CARFAC is a democratic, non-profit, national artist-run organization representing professional visual artists across Canada.

CARFAC National is federally incorporated as a non-profit corporation and serves as the national voice of Canada’s professional visual artists. As a National Arts Service Organization, our mandate is to promote the visual arts, to support a socio-economic climate that enables visual arts production in Canada, and to engage in research and public education in support of this mission.

We believe that artists, like all professionals, should be paid fairly for their work and should share equitably in the revenue generated from their creative output. CARFAC advocates for artists’ economic and legal rights, educates the public about fair dealings with artists, and works to improve the conditions under which visual artists work. In pursuing this mandate, CARFAC engages in advocacy, lobbying, research, and public education on behalf of Canadian artists and is recognized under the federal Status of the Artist legislation.

CARFAC is guided by an active Board of Directors elected by its membership, with affiliates in regions across the country including British Columbia.

CARFAC BC

CARFAC BC is the collective voice of professional visual artists in British Columbia. We advocate for artists’ legal rights and provide practical support, resources and skill development that help strengthen the professional practices of cultural producers across the province.

Since 1990, CARFAC BC has operated as a volunteer-driven organization. We receive no operational funding. Our work is sustained by the contributions of our members and by an active volunteer Board of Directors. Together, we work to make fair contracts and proper fee payments standard practice, to address the illegal reproduction of artists’ work, to lobby for tax reform, and to respond to other critical issues facing artists. With more than twenty-five thousand visual artists in British Columbia, we hold significant collective potential to improve the conditions in which artists live and work.

We contribute to and draw support from the national visual arts community through the CARFAC National office. We collaborate with regional affiliates across Canada to develop guidelines, tools and policies. We believe in the visual arts as a profession and value the rights, practices, and cultural diversity of all artists. Our membership includes students, practising visual artists, interdisciplinary artists, museums, galleries, educational institutions, and others who support the visual arts.

As our membership grows, so too does our collective ability to advocate for meaningful change in British Columbia.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

CARFAC BC strives to be an inclusive and safe space for all artists and to reflect the diversity of the arts communities we serve. We are committed to the values of equity, diversity and inclusion. We are working to remove barriers to participation and to improve the accessibility of our programs and services for visual artists.