There are no rules as to how you create as an artist.
Therefore, if you’re deciding whether to enrol in a fine arts BA or MA, you should consider in-depth first what you will be taught in these degrees so you don’t get disappointed and make the most out of it.
As with anything in life, there are pros and cons about going to art school which I will be talking about in today’s post.
What they teach at art school
First, you need to realise that most art schools teach you how to defend your work. They focus on how to speak and how to write about your work. The audience, basically your classmates and teachers, will critique your work and tell you if they don’t understand it or like it and then you defend it.
I’m not implying this is good or bad, it is what it is. This critique educational method works for some artists and helps them build their confidence, as well as allowing them to communicate their work in an academic manner. But, for others, this is not as great or important as it’s not what they expect from art school. Everyone has different expectations and therefore experiences.
A positive thing art schools also teach is art history, and this useful because (among many other things!) it enables you to know if what you do is original or not. It’s a powerful knowledge in so far it gives context to your work and practice. But again, it’s not imperative to learn art history at university, especially with the array of information available online and through cheaper or free art history courses out there. What they don’t teach Most artists want to be selling after college but in reality becoming an artist who sells has nothing to do with having gone to art school or not. Indeed, you won’t be learning how to navigate the art world even during your postgraduate studies.
They don’t teach you how to sell and that’s something I’ve been teaching my clients because mastering the art of selling (which includes learning skills such as empathy, active listening, storytelling and collaboration) will make you thrive as an artist and have freedom to create more art and experiment.
At the end of the day, galleries want to know if they can sell your piece. Of course they’ll want to hear more about your practice, but they don’t care if you have studied or no.
Pros In my opinion, one of the most valuable things art schools provide artists with is that they facilitate the creation of a community of fellow artists and other arts practitioners such as curators who are studying there as well who share interests and passions. Building a community is fundamental to support yourself and navigate the art world and without going to art school it would potentially take you more time to build, but it’s definitely viable.
Cons
Unfortunately, going to art school comes at a price. In the US alone fees can go up to $200,000 for studying a 4-year postgraduate degree and so many artists take loans and get into debt. As with any investment, analyse what is going to be your ROI and if it will align with your career goals and business model you’d like to follow as an artist.
Some artists I have worked with feel the urge to do an MA to reinsert themselves in the art system after having taken some time off due to a variety of reasons (maternity/paternity, travelling, finding themselves, mental problems, etc.). I strongly advise against enrolling to a postgraduate degree so you can ‘compensate’ your gaps in your artist CV.
We should normalise the fact that artists need to take some time off when needed. Only go to art school if you genuinely want to, not because society indirectly forces you or because you feel guilty about the time you’ve spent resting or nurturing yourself.
Long story short, I firmly believe art schools would do more good to artists if they would teach a lot more of the business aspect of art.
For those of you who went to art school, did you find it valuable?
If you want some free resources on the art of selling, check out my How to start selling art guide here: https://www.belindamartinart.com/how-to-start-selling-art
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