Yesterday the Frieze Magazine’s Twitter profile posted this thought: “Art world addicted to unpaid work, survey finds.” with a link to their article. Packed with gems like this: “working for long hours was regarded as a test of commitment, such that working contracted hours is perceived as not wanting to go the extra mile”, the short text made me think.

Is there really no better way of testing people’s dedication and love for their work than making them work after-hours for free?

Is this some sort of capitalist romanticism? As like Giorgio Agamben puts it: 

“Here it is not possible to distinguish between workdays and holidays; rather, there is a single, uninterrupted holiday, in which work coincides with the celebration of the cult.”

And do all these dedicated people, working for nothing more than the promise of recognition and respect, actually get to taste the fruits of their labour? Or is this more like trying to loose weight by drinking diet soda — never going to happen, regardless of how much the commercials tell you otherwise?

Capitalism is a cult; a gathering of hardworking people that have been taught that anything is possible. But I fear the idea of “anything is possible” might just have been transformed by us millennials — many of who grew up, like me, in absolute abundance compared to previous generations — into a toxic “I can be anything” attitude.

The connection?

Well, it’s not hard to imagine some Henry in a city like London with semi-wealthy parents or some other financial backing, who wants to become a big-shot gallerist because of the lifestyle and perceived freedom and creative power such a position radiates.

When he finishes his 20.000€ a year Master of Art and Business or the Art Museums, Galleries and Curating program at either Christie’s or Sotheby’s, of course Henry will try to get an internship somewhere — that’s what everyone else is doing in the business.

And when (but much more likely if) he is actually able to find someone willing to take him on — art programmes are, to no surprise to anyone, booming amongst millennials — his new employer just has to say a few fancy words about how in a couple of years of pro bono artisanal coffee brewing and performance reception work, Henry will indeed have shown enough dedication and skill to start managing the gallery. 

Or, what is more likely, he’ll be anointed the best dressed delivery boy on the block.

Let’s stop romanticising free work and rebranding it as a test of dedication. A lot of people are in it for the money, I get that, but for any attentive HR person, I’m sure they can tell the difference in nine out of ten times. 

In reality though, the galleries and other institutions won’t stop just because we say it’s bad. We have to be the ones who say no. Even though it’s hard, when one knows there’s a bunch of others just dying to work for free.