Industry Perspective: Penelope Benton traces her trajectory from struggling artist to arts work—and now the Executive Director of the National Association for the Visual Arts (NAVA)—sharing insight into the close relationship between the lived experience of artists and artist advocacy. She describes how receiving her first artist fee opened her eyes to the need for advocacy work in the visual arts sector, leading to the significant work she now undertakes spearheading NAVA. Despite the many challenges of regulating working conditions and improving incomes in the sector, Benton’s optimistic view is that, with work, the sector can “improve the fundamental conditions of work and practice in the visual arts”.