TITLE: Artists and Art in Society: Creative Work for Social Change

v,8a [ii] Abstract: H o w can artists uphold their creative autonomy from the dictates of capitalism without compromising their vision for social change? Max Weber made it clear that the capitalism of to-day, which has come to dominate economic life, educates and selects the economic subjects which it needs through a process of economic survival of the fittest. (Weber, 1958) Eleven visual artists from the Golden Horseshoe Area and the Greater Toronto Area participated in this qualitative study and provided in-depth interviews about their creative work, personal struggles and insights about the current state of the arts community. The data suggests connections between 'starving artists ' and creative autonomy. On one hand, artists who pursued their art outside the formal art market deemed they had greater autonomy but experienced greater economic insecurity and social isolation. On the other hand, artists who practiced their art within the formal art market believed they had better financia