Filling the Gap: Picking Up Where Art School Left Off

When researching the professional development needs of artists, we found frustration with the lack of career preparation in BFA and MFA programs.

Many of us graduated from arts programs without any real knowledge of our industry, such as: insider vocabulary, infrastructure, operations, power structure, salary norms, contract norms, historical/current trends, non-craft skill sets, etc.
“Institutions left me in the dark, in terms of the business side of things. I have worked with a lot of professional dance companies at this point, so I know what they didn’t teach me.” – Dancer, NYC
“Training institutions are not serving the artist at all…they come out really ignorant…this can be rectified by changing requirements. The only focus at BFA programs is arts training. Post grad gives you more, but who has time for that? In my experience, a lot of artists have to learn through trial and error, not formal education in business.” –Arts Administrator, Atlanta

“The schools think artists are set up NOT to survive and they assume that we won’t make money doing what we do…and if you do…that somehow means you sold out - KILL that CONVERSATION!!” –Anonymous Survey Respondent

The majority of the artists we surveyed/interviewed voiced similar opinions of art school programs:

* 53.5% of respondents were unsatisfied with their schools career preparation efforts,
* 33.8% were satisfied,
* and 12.7% were undecided.

Although many schools offer art administration degrees for those interested in an arts management career, they do not offer business courses to those training to have an arts career. In fact, only 50.5% of respondents said their school provided any business or industry education at all.

Based on these results, we assumed that BFA/MFA programs would be motivated to improve this perception by implementing career development services and programs, however, sources imply that universities and colleges have a long history of resistance around educating artists in “the business.” The philosophy is that art should be taught for art’s sake.

Many artist advocates take issue with this lack of pragmatic education. They say it is hypocritical and irresponsible for US universities and colleges to take large sums of tuition money (est. $3 -$10 billion in 2005, according to National Center for Education Statistics and Real Dollars for Education data) from students who are not properly prepared to make a return on their investment.

“I just wrote a whole chapter for my next book around the issue of the rising cost of arts education. I think its ridiculous the amount of money students have to spend.” – Arts Advocate, Artist Consultant & Author

Almost half of the survey respondents (49.1%) reported spending more than $50,000 for their education. Alternative research estimated that art students are spending between $40,000 and $100,000 on their education. This is a significant amount of money for students who graduate to make an average annual salary of $20,000-$40,000; especially when accounting for interest on student loans that can double the cost.

“It’s a shame that (…) doesn’t have a real business class for artists. I have always found it worrisome that students came out with $100k in debt to be actors.” – Former Theater Studies Professor

“What isn’t good, is the huge burden of debt that you come out of (…) with to be an artist…just having to make the monthly payment on those loans limits your working flexibility.” – Musician & Actor, Los Angeles

Although it was encouraging to learn that a significant portion of survey respondents support themselves solely through their art (with 58.3% reporting some revenue from artistic projects and 32% reporting significant revenue), the majority of respondents made less than 50% of their income from the arts.

How would we judge other schools of learning within the higher education system, if the majority of their graduates made less than 50% of their income in their field?

We investigated the position of educational institutions on career preparation and found the following:

• Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) encourage art schools to focus on“creating progressive, national and international conversations about art and its importance to American culture….as a necessary component of the development of complete human beings and a society that values the human spirit.”
• The national associations of art schools (NAST, NASD, NASM, and NASAD) believe employment depends almost entirely on demonstrated competence, which is achieved through an education designed to develop talent, inspiration, creativity, artistic skill, historical awareness, and technique.
• NAST states the primary purpose of theater schools is to help individual students turn talent, inspiration, creativity, and dedication into significant potential for service to the development of theatre culture in its multiple dimensions.

Of course this is all true and IMPORTANT, but we found little to no discussion about educating artists in ways to develop and manage the resources necessary for participating in the multiple dimensions of art culture (i.e. a living wage).

“My understanding is that in an effort to keep students uninfluenced by the market or industry, the school was not focused on giving us career tools. As a result, all my peers gave up on their practice, because they felt as if there was no financial, intellectual, or communal support after leaving the school system” – Anonymous Survey Respondent

“This (career education) should have been offered as part of my expensive schooling” – Anonymous Survey Respondent

To be fair, there is an increasing number of arts administrators working through the bureaucratic maze to meet these needs by improving internship programs, hosting expert panel discussions, posting more relevant job notices, and organizing events for students to introduce their work to industry insiders.

For example, The Julliard School has an Office of Career Development that provides essential services needed to assist students in developing long-term career plans such as: career guidance, self-assessment tools, résumé/curriculum vitae/press kit development, career workshops, marketing, graphic image design, web page design, project development, fundraising, internship opportunities, and performance opportunities.

Also, we found some advocates of the traditional educational structure.
“Business is something to be learned apart from studies and studio arts education. Its best learned through internships, assisting positions and other jobs.” – Anonymous Survey Respondent
“(….) helped to instill a confidence in my ability to create and perform quality art, because in the real world you don’t get the opportunity to test yourself that often…the opportunities are few and far between to do “good” art or challenging art. They also prepared me by giving me a place to be around other students and people trying to make it and alumni that have made it…so the networking was a huge asset.” – Musician & Actor, Los Angeles
“On the other hand, if you come out with good artistic skills and the (….) reputation, it could get you in the audition room…the artist needs to take it from there. More and more (….) folks (alumni) are appearing in the industry….I see former students on commercials all the time. I enjoy watching them make it, plus going to (…) does give you a sturdy liberal arts background to fall back on. They do provide internships, which is a good way to get practical knowledge. You are getting a college education that will be competitive in other areas of the work place.” – Former Theater Studies Professor

However, the overall sentiment is that arts programs have fallen short in career preparation for students.

So, how can they improve?

Survey respondents gave us a few suggestions:

* Provide industry information/resources
* Teach small business and entrepreneurship concepts
* Adjust the elitist attitude
* Encourage participation in “real world” industry activities.
* Teach the vocabulary of the industry
* Explain how the industry works
* Provide some real statistics on working artists and the competitive environment.
* Identify broader career options
* Provide panel discussions with professional artists
* Provide networking opportunities
* Assist with job placement
* Eliminate the myth of “getting discovered”
* Provide classes on “coping” skills
* Offer one-on-one customized counseling
* Inform students of industry news and trends
* Offer continuing education

Fractured Atlas is participating in a growing effort among arts organizations to fill the gap. We are designing our professional development program to be a resource for artists and arts managers who need information about how to effectively function in art industries. We hope to provide answers to your questions through Fractured U.’s online courses and guidance through our developing network of consultants. We are committed to helping you navigate the business requirements of working in the arts.

For more information about the emerging professional development program at Fractured Atlas, please contact kamal.sinclair@fracturedatlas.org.

(Originally published on FracturedAtlas.org October 13, 2008)