The purpose of this publication is to problematize the visual artist’s economy and the way in which his financial reality determines his performance and production. More specifically, it aims to discuss the nature(s) and cause(s) of the economic reality of the visual artist in the Portuguese context and, with this, promote reflection on their power of cultural, social and political action.
The autonomy/economy of the visual artist is a structural theme in artistic practice that originated in the 19th century. XVIII, when the split between art and crafts, or between the figures of the artist and the craftsman. The new condition of employer autonomy brought new challenges with regard to the artist’s way of acting and surviving. This cultural change was accentuated from Modernism with the incorporation and legitimization of new ways of acting by the artist, whose activity expanded to the areas of curation, criticism, theorization, production, mediation and education, at the same time as developing artistic practices. collaborative and participatory.
We therefore seek to address the following questions: How is the financial autonomy of visual artists constructed in the Portuguese context? What relationships can be established between art and economy from the perspective of the visual artist? How does the contemporary visual artist work? How are institutional support relationships established? How does the art market work? How to overcome the precariousness of the visual artist?
In this context, concepts of economy, market, production value, value of the work of art, institutional value, recognition, presentation, circulation, dissemination, precariousness, autonomy, among others, will be evoked and debated.

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