By Kyra-lin Hom

One of the first things you learn as a freelance artist is how many people expect you to work for free. Americans talk a good game when it comes to valuing the arts, but very few people are willing or able to put their money where their mouth is. And sadly, we artists perpetuate that process out of a desperation for exposure. In fact, this concept has become so distorted that those 'patrons' most able to pay often don't, instead assuming association with their name is currency enough.

Take, for example, Oprah's current, highly profitable “The Life you Want” national tour. Talk about ironic, this feel-good, ego-stroking show features speakers worth millions to billions of dollars (the big O.W. herself) and charges up to $1k per ticket. Yet it decided that the best way to live up to its 'live the dream' message was to request struggling, local, professional artists to perform on an outdoor side stage for free.

And here's the awful thing, it worked. Promised nothing but 'exposure' and entrance to the event, local performing artists in each city put on their dancing bear costumes and played for listless audience members waiting in line for tour merchandise (that's true – though not the part about bear costumes). That's because performing arts (arguably the most undervalued art form because of its intangible value) and art in general is a competitive race to the monetary bottom.

Many artists will undercut even their own bottom line for friends, family, really good projects or that esteemed concept of 'exposure' mentioned above. For an artist, exposure means getting your name out there. It means exposing the masses to your brand and hoping something sticks. Many artists, however, forget that exposure is only worth what can potentially be gained as a result. No matter how large the client or venue, doing a job does not equal exposure. Performing in front of 15,000+ people is worthless if no one's watching.

We would never expect a plumber to work for nothing. Nor would we undercut a qualified electrician with a rank amateur just to get that bottom-feeding rate. So why do we do that to artists? Likely because most non-artists have little reference with which to judge how much time, money and effort go into every presentation nor the experience to judge skill. (Here's a hint: if one artist quotes you $800 and another quotes you $200, you should probably figure out why.)

See, I may have no idea how to fix a sink, but I do know my plumber has done the job right when it stops leaking. And I know how much to pay my plumber because I'm familiar with industry standard rates. Comparatively, someone who has never sewn before likely has no idea why I can't reproduce a dress they saw in a catalogue for the same $30 price. I stopped being offended by such requests once I realized that most inquiring individuals simply had no idea they were being offensive.

There is no quick fix to this conflict. Ideally, artists and patrons alike would agree that free is insulting and not a form of payment. Realistically, however, I encourage patrons to become more discerning and artists to sharpen their business senses. If we don't value and respect our own work, no one else will either.