How do I deal with Mutual Obligation without affecting my art?

The best advice is to plan for this in advance -  once you’re in something, you’re stuck with it.

“When you reach mutual Obligation there are a few places that accept volunteers that are a shit-load better than the rest. I went to Express Media in North Melbourne (editing a visual and literary youth magazine), ACCA in South Melb(serving wine at openings and sitting shows), ACMI in Fed Square (sitting exhibits and information).”

Tai S

MO is a certified amount of time each week that ‘benefits the community’ in some way. Artists are always doing mutual obligation - think of the benefit the community gets when artists show their work at galleries (mostly done financially breaking even, at best). Challenge any  cliched idea of what ‘community’ is - don’t forget we are community too. Artists are also are constantly making efforts to increase their future job prospects - grants, gallery proposals, working on proposals, just keeping up with the industry and making new work (research). It’s volunteering, part time work, and studying all in one.

Some job network people have allowed for artists to work in their studio as ‘mutual obligation’, especially if there is an exhibition approaching - a big opportunity for further employment, and our “job interviews” - why shouldn’t they?

If this ideal situation is not allowed, maybe consider art institutes or other beneficial study to your practice. If you do your Honours at art school, say, under Mutual Obligation, you get a higher rate of pay than if you did it on Austudy!

If you have had enough of art institues and art colleges, think of a range of associated - perhaps useful - art degrees. Graphic Design Schools, Architecture, film school, Interior Design Schools, even business schools might be useful, or value your art college experience. To my knowledge nobody has tested online art colleges or online graphic design schools to see if they count as mutual obligation (an art degree online still counts as work towards employment).

I’ve heard it is relatively easy for artist run spaces to be registered (anyone know the easiest way?), and helping out is stuff you might be doing anyway. Ask artist run spaces and see if they’re interested in a free hand – they don’t have to be registered, you can register them yourself as a one-off thing. Usually ARIs are pretty flexible about what you do to help them out.

We have come up with name for our work for the dole project, we call it “Day Jail” it has been such a huge success, that even the library staff where we pretend to work for the dole, Now refer to it as “Day Jail”.

(Great site guys. well done.)

Alarming Jill

I have an artist friend who has had her advance (post grad) painting course she is undertaking in an approved Art School rejected by Centrelink as part of her MO hours. A centrelink staff member refused to allow it because he said it was study to help her art business (which last year made an annual profit of just $3k and this year she is making far less - she runs classes and does some community programs). Any ideas as to where she goes now? I suggested she find an advocate - does anyone know how to access these within centrelink? Thanks in advance.
jenm