Artist' is taken to mean any person who creates or gives creative expression to, or re-creates works of art, who considers his artistic creation to be an essential part of his life, who contributes in this way to the development of art and culture and who is or asks to be recognized as an artist, whether or not he is bound by any relations of employment or association.

– International definition of UNESCO according to its Recommendation Concerning the Status of the Artist, drafted in Belgrade on October 27, 1980.