No dearth of options with Fine Arts

Sanjay Arora
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Q. As someone pursuing a degree in fine arts I am continuously told by people how it isn’t lucrative. I am looking for job profiles which pay me well and also allow me to use my skill and artistic expression.

A. Fine Arts can offer careers which are not only lucrative but satisfying also. Fields where a degree in fine arts can be directly applied are manifold. In fact, the degree allows you to seek a job in that facet of art which interests you the most.

If you concern yourself with keeping the value of art alive and have a strong hold on management skills, you may consider being a Commercial Art Gallery Manager. Your job would entail ensuring the commercial as well as artistic success of the gallery through promotion and advertising activities. Your job profile would also include selecting artwork and individual artists for display as well as exhibitions in order to keep the gallery alive.

If you wish for your work to be consumed for commercial purposes, you may find freelance work as an illustrator for advertisements and posters to communicate ideas or messages. You may even work as a cartoonist for books.

An interest in imparting your practice and using it as a tool to assist people find their artistic expression may draw you towards teaching the skill. Teaching school children or being a college lecturer are both equally good opportunities, the latter being preferred by people who enjoy sophisticated art theory.

If you wish to make indirect use of your degree, interior designing or being a stylist are both lucrative fields. Both would make use of your knowledge on colours and aesthetic to make visually appealing designs and patterns for clients to regularly interact with.

Having interest in capturing real life aesthetics through a camera along with your fine arts degree makes a good combination to attempt professional photography. Skilled fashion photographers make for a very competitive industry and are highly demanded as well as paid well.

Taking illustrations further, animators too make use of a fine arts degree. The evolving industry however, encourages the use of graphic animation softwares to facilitate animation. Therefore additional knowledge of the same would come in handy if animation and visual storytelling interests you.

The profile of an Art Director responsible for visual appeal and styling of magazines, newspapers, movies and television productions demands a fine arts background coupled with a holistic approach towards visual aesthetics. Art Directors have the capacity to visualise the bigger picture and micromanage small details to reach that end result.

Lastly, if the authenticity of art in its purest form is truly what drives you, working on your brand image to become an artist is something you should encourage yourself to do. .

Fine Arts allows you to have flexibility in the kind of work you do while still keeping you connected to your creativity. Professional success in the field comes with persistence and perfection and is certainly not unattainable.

— The expert is a Panchkula-based employability expert and Chief Mentor, Maven Career Coaching