If you’re considering a career in the arts, you may not be aware of the lesser-known jobs for artists. As such, you (or your parents), may not be too gung-ho about (you) pursuing an art degree.
So as passionate arts-integrated educators, we’re here to enlighten you!
Having an art degree doesn’t mean you’re consigned to being the cliché starving artist. Studying art in college is an amazing experience full of creative opportunities. And those don’t cease once you graduate.
What Are Some of the Lesser-Known Jobs for Artists?
Even if you don’t pla
n to pursue life as an independent artist, you’re likely aware of certain high profile arts jobs. Fashion designer, illustrator, tattoo artist, or art director are just a few.
But depending on your chosen area of study (fine arts, design, art history, visual arts, film, etc.) there’s a multitude of careers you may have never considered. We’ll briefly explore 21 of them here.
Art Supervisor
Marketing agencies hire graphic designers and other visual artists to generate their creative campaigns. Art supervisors manage the creative team and their work.
Art Manager
Beyond the world of marketing, companies in other industries also hire art departments. The art manager oversees, plans, coordinates, and directs all activities for that department.
Art Consultant
If you’re good with people, you might consider becoming an art consultant. In this job, you assist clients with selecting and acquiring art for their homes, businesses, or personal collections.
Communications Director
The image of the disorganized artsy type is a stereotype. If you have a knack for organization, you may pursue work as a communications director managing multimedia campaigns and directing marketing and design professionals.
Production Artist
Product design firms, publishing houses, and ad agencies are always looking for production artists to help their design teams produce high-quality print materials, packaging, and display projects within different industries.
Video Editor
Taking raw material and turning it into something viewable is kind of the definition of art, isn’t it? Video editors do exactly that. They assemble and edit raw footage and sound to create a video (TV, film, commercials, etc.) that’s worthy of broadcast.
Videographer
Videographers specialize in recording and filming news media, documentaries, sporting events, training videos, live events, and commercials – usually for video production teams.
Print Manager
If you have an eye for detail, becoming a print manager you could be a good match for you. In this job, you’ll interface with clients while supervising printing teams and checking marketing materials for quality assurance.
Floral Designer
Having a flair for decoration and a love of plants and flowers could land you a job as a floral designer. In this job, you work either independently or in a flower shop arranging live, dried, and silk flowers for a variety of displays.
Engraver
You may have never considered working as an engraver. And yeah, technology has taken over some of this work. But there are still people and companies seeking hand-etched designs, words, and images for products for themselves or their clients.
Sound Technician
If you’re the techie sort, you might enjoy working as a sound technician at a film production company, recording studio, or even concert venue. In this role, you’re responsible for setting up microphones and other recording equipment, as well as managing sound levels during film production.
Broadcast Technician
Another techie arts job is broadcast technician. The work is similar to a sound technician’s, but you work in newsrooms and other live television stations to record, edit, and transmit media.
Theater Manager
Maybe you once had dreams of working in the theater. Your art degree could land you a job as a theater manager where you would oversee operations, design spaces, coordinate performances, and plan events.
Set Manager
Also in the realm of the theater, set managers supervise employees working on a set or stage. In this role, you would oversee set design and direct the artists working on the set.
Furniture Finisher
If you’re the more solitary type, becoming a furniture finisher might appeal to you. Working alone, you get the opportunity to preserve and restore damaged or older furniture using oil, paint, stain, and wax.
Interior Decorator
When you walk into a space, do you immediately see how it could look better? As an interior decorator, you rearrange business and home spaces with furniture, lighting fixtures, accessories, color schemes, and artwork.
Art Framer
For some art students, framing their work is a drag. But for others, creating custom frames is an enjoyable part of the artistic process. If that sounds like you, then you could have a job mounting pieces, designing frames, and assembling them for presentation for clients.
Curator
If you have an abiding interest in art history and want to focus on this, you could be become a curator. As a curator you buy art, organize exhibits, build art collections for museums and galleries, and design storage solutions for the pieces.
Gallery Manager
Once again, if you’re on those creative types who thrives on organization and efficiency, working as a gallery manager would be right up your alley. In this role you coordinate the shipping, storage, and presentation of art. You may also be in charge of streamlining operations by working with the gallery staff.
Technical Designer
If you love fashion, but fashion design isn’t quite your thing, you could become a technical designer. Simply put, a technical designer oversees the creation of fashion apparel and then tests for quality and fit to advise any needed improvements.
Art Agent
Finally, perhaps your love of art has more to do with being around art and artists than actually creating it. If you’re the quintessential cheerleader for your artist friends and have great people skills, you could represent them as a successful art agent. Because what artist couldn’t use a little more support!?
Give Your Artistic Child a Competitive Edge
As arts educators, we can’t emphasize enough the importance of allowing a creative child the space and freedom to explore their interests.
So if your child shows an aptitude for the arts, we’d love to talk to you. Contact us today to schedule a tour of our school.
Whether your child becomes the next Picasso or O’Keefe, or he/she/they happily settle into one of the lesser-known jobs for artists, you’ll be giving your child the opportunity to shine. And that’s truly priceless.