In a world where the tendency to generate value and business through creativity and innovation is increasingly strong, taking a degree in Visual Arts will open up a number of possibilities for your career.
Learning methods to create and transmit artistic and creative content, whether for enjoyment, education or to generate sales, can be a great option for your professional life. Even more so if you have talent!
Want to know more about the market for those who graduate in Visual Arts? Get to know 8 possibilities of acting in the area!
What are Visual Arts, anyway?
Art is a very complex concept, but in a very simplified way one can say that art results from the creativity and techniques that an artist applies on a material to generate beauty, awaken sensations and feelings in other people.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Visual Arts are objects or experiences consciously created through the expression of a skill or imagination. They are classified as this type of art, manifestations such as drawing, painting, sculpture, engraving, decorative arts, photography, installation, among others.
Visual Arts far beyond romanticism
When one hears about Visual Arts it is common to imagine several romantic scenes. The painter who spends hours at home waiting for inspiration to arrive or the sculptor who observes the model and already leaves breaking the marble. However, producing works that are considered art requires a lot of training, study and sweat.
Generally, the training of a visual artist passes through the ability to draw and to do this for years on end, studying classical techniques, poses, angles, anatomy, botany, etc.
For example: Michelangelo Buonarroti, the author of phenomenal sculptures like David, did numerous studies drawing on paper and molding on terracotta before departing to the phase of sculpting in fact and breaking marble.
The Visual Arts portray time, historical moments and, in the last decades, the role of art as social criticism has grown a lot. It is through art that artists express collective discontent. As in the Cold War, when Dmitri Vrubel’s graffiti ‘My God, help me to survive this deadly love’ at the Berlin Wall, ironized the Soviet leaders.
Today, artists like Banksy generate buzz with their works that criticize modern ephemerality, excessive attachment to social networks, and question the establishment and rituals of the art world itself, like auctions.
Companies need creative, so they need artists
Professionals who pass through the Visual Arts degree can work both in creative industries and also with education. Art galleries, museums, conservation institutes and universities are just some possibilities of organizations where a visual artist can work.
The classroom is one of the most promising options for those who go through the Visual Arts course, since the Ministry of Education’s Common National Curriculum Base (BNCC) includes them in the set of essential learning that all students must develop throughout the stages of Basic Education. The BNCC reinforces the value of artistic expressions and languages as teaching tools.
Therefore, the arts teacher plays a key role in this scenario. According to the Student Guide, those who intend to dedicate themselves to teaching have greater chances in the North, Northeast and Center-West regions of Brazil.
Other industries in which the artist can act are design companies, advertising agencies, game producers, events, television and theater, publishing houses, fashion industries.
An artist can still be entrepreneurial and keep the work autonomous, with the studio and gallery to negotiate their own work, make restorations or works on demand. Another way is to agency and promote other artists.
According to the newspaper O Globo, SP-Arte, which is the largest fair in the segment in Latin America, gave positive signs to the market and results for Brazil. That’s because the fair had an increase in public compared to the previous year and new galleries participating.
Areas of expertise for Visual Arts students
Those who go through a degree in Visual Arts and exercise their skills in creating beauty and awakening feelings through their work have several career options. Check out, below, some specific areas of performance for artists.
Illustration: working as an illustrator, the artist tells stories in a visual way, drawing both on paper and digital media. This work is usually done in partnership with some writer or writer, in publishing houses, advertising agencies, content producers, etc.
Painting: mastering drawing, being an observer and knowing the various types of techniques and materials are fundamental for those who choose this area. A painter can work with portraits, landscapes, abstract and more conceptual paintings. The important thing is to communicate in an authentic and touching way.
Sculpture: nowadays, more than modeling on clay, artists can use super-technological design tools like 3D printers to develop their work. It takes years of study and practice to learn how to deal with the most diverse materials such as bronze, marble, wood, etc.
Scene design: planning scenery for TV, theater or dance shows, thinking about the story told through the backgrounds, light, assembly and disassembly during the show, can also be work for a visual artist. It has space in centers with intense cultural life, such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Curator: the curator is the one who takes care of all the details of an exhibition. In this function, besides selecting works to be exhibited and thinking about how the work will be more valued, the artist needs to put himself in the position of spectator. In this way, he is able to elaborate the best form of exhibition and enjoyment for the visitors.
Education: the artist who proposes to teach arts can teach techniques and teach about art history, artistic movements in schools, universities, museums, historical enterprises, etc.
Games: in the gamification era, the visual artist can create content for videogame games, for museum applications, stories, graphic animation, etc.
Communication and marketing: in this field, the professional develops communication strategies for all types of clients.
A degree in Visual Arts can be a great option if you love to create and communicate in a visual way.
