有關「香港藝術家工會」的一些思考

有關香港文藝勞動的議題，近年受到不少文藝工作者與學者的關注。一方面，探討文化及創意工作者 勞動狀態的學術研究漸成體系，另一方面，不少文藝工作者，包括藝術工作者，不但有意識地對外界解釋個人的勞動遭遇，更身體力行地組織起來，嘗試以建立集體意識（collectiveness）的方式正視文 藝勞動議題。建立集體，是體現勞動三權，即團結權、協商權、爭議權的一種形式，而建立勞動集體的其中一個方法，正是成立工會。在2016 年，一班本地藝術家開始籌組「香港藝術家工會」，歷經準備、提議到成立等階段。「香港藝術家工會」的成立是個關鍵的契機，讓我們思考本地藝術家的具體勞動狀況與身分。工會可以追溯至十八世紀工業革命時期的英國，當時被視作沒有法定地位的非法組織，演變到十九世紀中期以降在世界各地漸漸取得合法地位。時至2016 年的香港，藝術工作者在網上發起成立「香港藝術家工會」。工會的歷史跨越時代、國族、行業，既反映了勞動政治經濟發展的複雜，也證明了隨著歷史的推進，以及勞動形式的轉變，爭取勞動者權益的思考與方式還在持續發展。本文藉著「香港藝術家工會」成立的契機以及因此而來的討論，探討一些與藝術勞動（artistic labor）相關的議題，例如藝術勞動者的個體企業模式、藝術勞動的個人與集體、藝術工作的勞動連結等。

The subject of artistic labor in Hong Kong has been receiving much attention from a good many arts practitioners and scholars in recent years. On the one hand, academic research on the conditions of cultural and creative labor is becoming more established; on the other hand, a lot of art practitioners begin to consciously publicize their individual labor experiences and even take further actions to develop a sense of collectiveness amongst themselves so as to look straight into the issue of artistic labor. Whilst the three basic labor rights, namely the rights to unionize, to bargain and to dispute, are embodied in the formation of collectiveness, organizing trade unions is precisely one way to achieve this end. In 2016, a group of local artists gathered to propose and prepare for the founding of “Hong Kong Artist Union,” which provided us with the opportunity to reflect on the actual working conditions and identities of local artists. Originating in Britain during the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, trade unions were considered illegal then and it was not until the mid-19th century that they started to gain legal status in different parts of the world. Now, back in Hong Kong in 2016, “Hong Kong Artist Union” was founded via the online advocacy of a group of artists. Having spread across different times, races and professions, the history of trade unions no doubt demonstrates the complexity of the development of the political economy of labor, and proves that as times goes on and the form of labor evolves, the ideas and tactics revolving around the fight for labor rights also keep on changing. Through tracing the establishment of “Hong Kong Artist Union” and drawing on the subsequent discussions, this essay will examine a few issues in relation to artistic labor, Such as namely the individual enterprise model for artistic laborers, the individuality and collectivity of artistic labor, and the connection amongst laborers in artistic work.