Fine Art Careers
Artists who create and sell their own art work are the people who make the fine art world what it is, but they are by no means the only people who make the art world run. There are numerous opportunities for people who both love to create art and those who love the art they create. An art education at an accredited college or university is extremely helpful. A master or doctorate is needed for teaching or museum work. Volunteering and interning is often the key to getting your foot in the door to a wonderful career in the fine arts.
Art Instructor
Art instructors teach art in many places, including universities, public and private schools, museums and art centers. They also teach privately. They are usually practicing artists with a high degree of skill. An educational director runs any classes that a museum offers and helps train volunteers and docents. A docent guides the public through a museum, giving talks about the art work.
Curator
A curator is an art profession who is responsible for putting an art show together. They are usually highly educated individuals who have a background in art history. Often they work for museums. With contemporary art, they will decide of what artist they want to ask to be in a show, decide on the pieces displayed, have a say in the installation of the work, arrange for transportation of the art, and hire a graphic designer to great promotional pieces and a catalogue. They will hire a writer to write the catalogue or may contribute or do it themselves. They will pitch the sthe board of director if they work for an institution or of they work independently, they will approach museum, galleries and other venues about putting on an art show. If the artists in the show are not living, the curator will work with other museums, collectors and foundations to put a show together.
Museum Director
Museum directors often act as curators in smaller museum and art centers. The museum director runs the museum and oversees the workers, who may include an educational director, a public relations person and an installation person. An installation person is responsible for hanging a show and displaying all the art work in an esthetically pleasing manner.
Art Critic
Art critics write about art, artists and art shows. They are writers with a background in art history. Their work is picked up by newspapers and published in journals and other scholarly venues. They are often writing the art history books of tomorrow when they describe and analyze a show. What they say is often the only record of an art show except the catalogue.
Art Historian
Art historians study and write about art. They write the text that appears in catalogue for exhibits in major museums. They help contextualize the work. They put it in its place or context in art history. Artists influence other artists. Art historians document this.
Art Collector
Art collectors are private individuals who collect art. They often come to a point in their collecting that they begin to loan art work to museums and other institutions. Often when they die, their collections become the core of a new museum or foundation that is set up to preserve the art work and allow for it to continue to be loaned out so the public can enjoy it.
Art Representative
Some artist like to create art work but hate to sell their and manage their business. Art representatives build the artist's reputation, help them get into galleries and sell their work to interested buyers. An art representative takes a percentage of the money from the work sold. They differ from art dealers, who are more similar to gallery owners in that they help find buyers for art work that comes on the market.
Art auction managers also sell art. They usually deal with art collectors who are reselling a piece of art. The art is catalogued. The auction is promoted and the work sold to other collectors, and shop owners sell art work. The shops buy at a wholesale price and then resale. As art auctions have become more popular and the resale of painting more profitable art auctions aren't necessarily a bargain but a way for the resale of art work to become public. In the past, art work was sold privately through art dealers.
