The COVID-19 pandemic severely affected the cultural sector, with repeated lockdowns and restrictions. As the government imposed restrictions on cultural institutions, gatherings, and thus artistic expression, artists’ working conditions has changed. However, few studies have monitored artists’ income change during the pandemic. This paper presents the result of an income survey among Norwegian artists, comparing total income and income from artistic work in the years 2019 and 2020. The main finding is that there was a relatively small decrease in total income among artists during the pandemic. Income from artistic work for all artists declined by 11 %, while the total income declined by 1 %. However, there were large differences in income loss between different categories of artists. Performing artists experienced a greater loss of income than visual artists, while women and individuals living outside the big cities had a smaller loss of income. Artists with high incomes also experienced a greater income loss than artists with low incomes. Generally, we find that the patterns of income variations that usually characterise artistic work was not replicated during the pandemic. Rather opposite, artists that normally have high incomes have experienced more considerable income loss than those with low incomes. The pandemic has been an extraordinary exception also when it comes to artistic income.
