Multiple job-holding and artistic careers: some empirical evidence

TLDR

Artists frequently hold multiple jobs outside the arts, yet little is known about the types of jobs they take, how they apply creative skills, or how these non‑arts workers differ from artists who do not work outside the arts. The study investigates two aspects of artists’ non‑arts employment: the patterns and determinants of such work and the extent to which artists transfer creative skills to non‑arts industries. Using a recent survey of Australian professional artists, the authors examine non‑arts working patterns and influencing factors, and assess skill transfer to other industries within the concentric circles framework of cultural industries.

Abstract

This article focuses attention on a somewhat overlooked component of the career portfolios of practising professional artists, namely their non-arts work. Although it is widely known that artists hold multiple jobs for a variety of reasons, there is little information on which jobs artists take on, whether they can make use of their creative skills in these jobs and how far artists doing non-arts work are different from artists who don't. We focus on two aspects of artists' non-arts work. First, we consider artists' working patterns in non-arts areas in general, looking particularly at the factors that influence artists to take on work outside the arts. Second, we analyse the extent to which artists are able to apply their creative skills in industries beyond the core arts, interpreting these results in the context of the concentric circles model of the cultural industries. Data used in this article are derived from the authors' recently completed survey of practising professional artists in Australia.