Working for a living
Left out
In all the important discussions about art—what is art, what is beauty, how important is any of that—I do feel one very important perspective is often left out of the discussion, art making as your job. Some people don’t want to sully the discussion, art is important, period. But the reality is a lot of people want to earn their living making art. It is not just about making art, but making art that sells.
This really is a big topic. Maybe that is why a lot of people don’t want to discuss it. I am breaking this up into three parts. First, I am going to survey the arts career landscape. Second, I am going to discuss how making art and making a living making art can inform each process. Third, I’ll discuss the societal and faith implications. The topic doesn’t really trisect that cleanly, so there will be some overlap. But, at least here in the beginning, that segmentation makes sense to me. And I still feel like I will not do the topic justice.
Just how many artists are there?
Back in the late ‘70s, early '80s, a report showed that the U. S. graduates more art majors every three years than existed in Florence, Italy, for the entire 15th century. I would not be surprised if that had increased to every year now. On top of that an arts degree is one of the most expensive degrees around.
According to BFAMFAPHD.com’s report What is a work of art in the age of $120,000 art degrees? just 10% of arts graduates are working artists. Of the working artists less than 40% did not get a bachelors degree. Of the artists with a bachelor’s degree less than 27% have an arts related degree. In congregate, that is a lot of people who wanted to make a living making art, whether or not they actually are.
It has been my experience both working in and with academia, and with many artists, one of the things few schools teach is that deciding to make a living with art is a business decision, not an aesthetic decision (necessarily). I have long lost count the number of times I have heard and been a part of the conversation “No one taught us how to work in the arts. Business model? Why would I think about that?”
Even the established artists and arts organizations are having difficulty. Dance touring for dance companies and artists are at all time lows. One dance organization even asked the question Is American Modern Dance a Pyramid Scheme?
There is hope!
At the same time, the artist as a profession is not really a problem and, according to an National Endowment for the Arts study, a major economic driver in the communities they work. People are working in the arts and arts related fields.
There are organizations now that try to fill the void left by arts education, organizations like Fractured Atlas in New York City and C4 Atlanta in Atlanta, GA. So if you are one of those artists who can’t figure the business side out, go to these people! This is why they exist. They will help you.
Also, while not all arts majors may make a living in the arts, the skills they learn are transferable to many occupations. Many employers are looking for people with the right skill set, but a different mind set to fill their positions. They turn to art and artists. This endeavor puts forth that to make better doctors, cultivate their creativity. I personally know several people who got their bachelors in the arts, but got their post-graduate degrees as doctors, engineers, and lawyers.
But there are a lot of decisions and realizations involved in deciding whether or not to make a living in the arts. This is not an easy pursuit and every artist should seriously examine themselves about this decision.
That’s all I have time for now. Been a slammed last three weeks. Thanks for reading! Drop me a note. I love hearing form readers.
blogATnatureofthebeatDOTorg
Joe