During the summer of 2019, 1,283 artists from across Washington State participated in the Artist Trust Annual Survey. The results of this annual survey allow us to better understand the artists we serve and share information from responding artists with other artist-serving organizations.

Artists who took the 2019 Annual Artist Survey indicated the major challenges in their careers are marketing, building new audiences for their work and finding financial stability. With two thirds of responding artists working out of their homes or home studios, they shared perspectives on accessing space and space affordability in Washington State.

This year, a number of new topics also emerged, including concerns about the climate, LGBTQ and gender equality, and access to continuing education. The 2019 Annual Artist Survey provides information that will continue to inform our programming and artist support services at Artist Trust. They make their findings and this report available publicly with the hope that other artist-serving organizations, artists, and arts advocates can learn from and utilize the results. Through this research, they continually work to gain a deeper understanding Washington State’s artists and better meet their needs.

Artist Trust is a nonprofit organization whose sole mission is to support and encourage individual artists working in all disciplines in order to enrich community life throughout Washington State. Since its founding in 1986, Artist Trust has invested over $10 million in individual artists through grant programs and provides a comprehensive suite of professional development training and resources to help artists achieve their career goals.