This is the one question you must have heard from every Arts student. But what we don’t know is that the answer is more complicated than it seems. Turning Creativity into Career can be a mighty task to accomplish, but the fruit is sumptuously sweet.
There are many misconceptions that surround the world of those who enrol in college programmes like fine arts or creative arts. If you ask someone the meaning of an artist, they will paint a picture with one or two big names. They will not answer with a middle ground, no security and no stability. There are just two types of artists according to the world: those who make it and those who don’t. When an artist fails, no matter how much dedicated and talented they are, they are tragically unappreciated at their core. In most cases, artists gain the appreciation or recognition only after their death. Another concept that happens in their lives is that it’s very easy for a celebrity to become an artist. No matter whether it is a white canvas with ketchup smeared all over it, the rich sparkle sells itself.
If we go by the common opinion, the creative profession is a big gamble, braved by reckless and if you’re an Arts student, you’ll need to know if this ‘make it or break it’ ideology is a real or fake. To satisfy my own curiosity and find a solution to the problem I had a chat with an MA student of Fine Arts and as far as I found out – It doesn’t. Artists have made success in freelancing. According to the Arts Council, 41% creative workers are self-employed. They publicise and exhibit works and supplement their passion with the second job. They can take up their careers with internships and today over 1.9 million people are working in the creative industry. Personally, the student accounted me with his own experience about how he grew as an artist. He gained global exposure, participated in various exhibitions and now he’s working part-time with a creative magazine to hone his skills.
He said,
“It’s not about the struggle, it’s about the birth of your own self from those struggles!”
