BLOW TO STREET ART WITH INSURANCE BACKFLIP

Councils that require artists to have their own insurance may be facing bigger challenges in the future, as one large insurance company is telling artists that they will not be covered for working at heights.

QBE’s Premium Plus insurance policy brokered by Local Community Insurance Services (LCIS) will see three key changes from 1 October, although it will not affect artists until their 2023 policy is up for renewal. While any artist working below five metres will now pay more, artists and arts workers who work at heights higher than five metres will no longer be eligible for this insurance coverage. AAP’s Liz Hobday recently reported: “The [policy] carve-outs would effectively prevent artists doing public art and mural projects or installing their own work in galleries, according to Penelope Benton from the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA).” Ms Benton is on the public record saying that the changes are devastating for many of the 6,000 artists who rely on the insurance policy. NAVA has supplied the widely held policy for artists through QBE for more than a decade, and in that time there has not been a single public liability claim related to working at heights, Ms Benton said. We are keen to know: Would this policy change affect your intention to transform your destination through street art? Please drop us a line and let us know. Image: Bute silo, GOLD winner of the Best Rural Art category at the 2022 Awards. Artists - Scott Nagy and Krimsone. Credit to West Barunga Council.