Careers in Art
Fine Art |
Textiles |
Photography |
Book Illustrator | Fibre Artist | Forensic Photographer |
Architectural Illustrator | Accessory Designer | Fashion Photographer |
Painter (fine art) | Dress Maker | Photo Journalist |
Graphic Illustrator | Pattern Maker | Food Photographer |
Technical/textbook Illustrator | Costume Designer | Portrait Photographer |
Cartoonist/Caricaturist | Fashion Designer | Director of Photography |
Commercial Artist/Freelance Artist | Fabric Designer | Sports Photographer |
Printmaker/Screen Printer | Furniture Designer | Wedding Photographer |
Courtroom Artist | Textile Machine Operator | Travel Photographer |
Forensic Artist | Printed Textile Designer | Scientific Photographer |
Other Areas:
Art therapist, Curator, Art historian, Teacher, Gallery owner/director, Art professor, spatial designer, advertising, animation, enameller, ceramics designer, 3D designer, architect, event manager, signwriter, set designer, marketing assistant, design and development engineer, arts administrator, CAD technician, marketing and PR.
Any specific industry, magazines or websites for example:
- Welcome to Arts Jobs & Events | Arts Jobs
- Art, design Jobs – Guardian Jobs (theguardian.com)
- Job Search | Indeed
- Jobs | The Dots (the-dots.com)
- Freelance Jobs | Upwork™
- Daisie
- Job Search Engine | SimplyHired, United Kingdom
- Career | Creative Boom
- LinkedIn: Log In or Sign Up
- Dribbble – Discover the World’s Top Designers & Creative Professionals
- www.CV-Library.co.uk
- Jobs and Recruitment on www.reed.co.uk
Explore | UCASArt Undergraduate Courses in UK | Whatuni
Subjects to study at A Level:
Art and Design, Fine art, Photography, Textiles, Digital Media, Business studies, Maths, Computing, Graphics, Media Studies
Wider reading:
- History of Art Reading List | King’s College Cambridge
- Art and Artists | Tate
- What’s On · Exhibitions, Events & Courses · V&A (vam.ac.uk)
- Explore our Collection – National Portrait Gallery (npg.org.uk)
- Events – Southampton City Art Gallery
- Solent Showcase
95 Universities offer 305 degrees involved in Art and Design, according to Whatuni website.
Check UCAS entry requirements for these Universities. www.ucas.com
An art and design degree will teach you to think outside the box, which will help you in your assignments and portfolio, but also your job search. Creatives can find themselves working in the most amazing places – ranging from festivals, exhibitions and events, to celebrity functions, and royal parades
Top 15 Colleges covering areas of Arts:
- Hills Road Sixth Form College
- Greenhead College
- Woodhouse College
- King Edward VI College
- Brockenhurst College
- Itchen College
- Richard Taunton College
- Southampton City College
- St Anne’s Sixth Form College
- Bitterne Park Sixth Form College
- Eastleigh College
- Totton College
- Barton Peveril College
- Peter Symonds College
- Fareham College
Top 10 Universities to study Art according to The Complete University Guide 2015 Results:
- Royal College of Art
- University of the Arts London
- The Ruskin School of Art
- University College London
- Glasgow School of Art
- Goldsmiths University of London
- Newcastle University
- Loughborough University
- Lancaster University
- Edinburgh College of Art
These organisations promote the interests of people working in particular professions. Some have listings of employers who are members of the association and may advertise jobs while others may be a useful source of information when researching employers for applications or considering a speculative application.
- Arts Marketing Association
- Association of Illustrators
- Association of photographers
- British Institute of Professional Photography
- Chartered Society of Design
- The Fine art Trade Guild
- Medical Artists’ Association
- Society of British Theatre Designers
Professional development
In Art and Design it is very common for clients/colleges/universities to ask for a portfolio of work. A portfolio of work is a collections of your best art work that showcases your skills and abilities as an artist and designer. Your portfolio is what helps you to get selected for jobs or offered a place at college or university. Therefore, it is extremely important for young artists to start building portfolios early and to engage with as many competitions and opportunities as possible in order to build up a strong portfolio.
The following websites contain information about yearly competitions that are available in the UK:
- Arts Opportunities, Art Prizes & Awards – ArtsHub UK
- Young Artists’ Summer Show | Royal Academy
- Schools Art Competition | Barton Peveril Sixth Form College (barton-peveril.ac.uk)
- UK Art Competitions 2023 – Over 150 Art Prizes | MoMa UK
Further Reading for art and design:
The following websites contain useful information and resources to help develop your knowledge around art and design and careers in art and design:
- John Hansard Gallery | Internationally recognised contemporary art gallery in Southampton, UK (jhg.art)
- Jobs and careers | Arts Council England
- Events – Southampton City Art Gallery
- All Access AUB – AUB – Arts University Bournemouth
- What’s On | Tate
- Learn · V&A (vam.ac.uk)