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My role is to facilitate great art, not support recent B.F.A. grads
This is for every art student or recent graduate looking to get a job in their field.
Owning an art publishing house I have come to accept the influx of cold call resumes from recent BFA and MFA grads. I am going to tell you right now why it is impossible to get a decent job in your major.
They are an expert in painting, in sculpture, in photography and graphic design. They want an internship, part time position, a four day remote work week with benefits and a two month paid vacation, anything. Sometimes they send me photos of their art or a list of the exhibitions their friends put on in college.
While I commend these young souls for working hard and following their dreams, none of these are reasons to hire you. Art school is such an amazing, transformative, nurturing place for art that it warps student’s perspective of art. It certainly did for me.
Art echos and explores the culture it is made and disseminated in. When selling art or running an art business art becomes a commodity with monetary value. Every recent art school grad I have ever talked to comes off as woefully sheltered to this reality. They think that being an expert in art will make them useful in business.
