Visual & Performing Arts Degree & Career Guide
What Is Visual & Performing Arts?
The arts provide a creative outlet for individuals to explore emotions, culture, and society. Visual arts use tangible mediums like painting, digital photography, or ceramics. Performing arts focus on acting, singing, or playing an instrument. Visual and performing arts encompass various specialties, including music performance, graphic design, and fine arts. Many working artists enjoy being able to create meaningful work for themselves and others. Some find they can apply their creativity to other fields, such as interior design or fashion design. Colleges and universities offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees in many areas of visual and performing arts. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 54% of artists are self-employed. They earn a median salary of $49,960, as of May 2021. The skills gained from a degree in visual and performing arts can translate to many careers, including education, film and cinematography, and graphic design.
Frequently Asked Questions About Visual & Performing Arts
Studying the visual arts offers many career opportunities. Depending on the specialization, graduates with a visual arts degree can work in cinema or as an animator. Photographers can create works of art while supporting themselves through portrait photography or as photojournalists.
Performing artists work in a variety of venues. Many musicians may work in religious, civic, or professional organizations. Actors may work for colleges, theater companies, or dinner theaters.
hold another jobFull-time undergraduate students pay an average of $35,551 each year to attend a four-year university. Craft and fine artists reported a median annual salary of $49,960, as of May 2021, slightly higher than the median wage for all workers, $45,760.
According to the NEA, artists are 3.6 times more likely to be self-employed than other workers, though most enjoy the flexible schedules and independence self-employment offers.
Your degree can provide coaching in your area of specialization and enhance your understanding of art history and theory. The curriculum can build critical-thinking and problem-solving skills and equip you with a foundation in principles of design and aesthetics.
Art directors report the highest median annual salary among art and design occupations, at $100,890, as of May 2021. The BLS projects an 11% growth in employment for art directors from 2020-2030, with about 11,500 openings each year.
Studying the performing arts can build critical-thinking skills and help individuals develop self-confidence and creativity.
30.3% of actorsVisual and Performing Arts
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