Arts graduates in a changing economy

Abstract

The articles in this special issue contribute to a burgeoning literature on the role of higher education in the creative economy and offer an engaging entry point to a better understanding of recent overlapping changes in higher education, careers, and the professional identities of artistic workers. This introductory essay highlights some of the key themes and findings within this special issue, engaging with topics of interest both to academics and the broader arts community: the cultures of arts schools; job outcomes after college; the geography of artistic work; creative identity; and the multiple conceptions of creativity.

Masters of None? How Cultural Workers Use Reframing to Achieve Legitimacy in Portfolio Careers

“…Portfolio diversification involves patching together portfolios from diverse crossover work spanning art forms/disciplines (Frenette, 2017), sectors (Haukka, 2011; Markusen et al, 2006), and occupational categories, industries or markets (Jackson, 2004; Throsby and Zednick, 2011). It is more prominent now than ever.…”

“…Portfolio careers entail individualized risk, self-management and the continual search for new job opportunities (Gold and Fraser, 2002; McRobbie, 2002). Key to these processes is adaptability (Hannekam and Bennet, 2017; Neff et al, 2005), which workers achieve by cultivating: (1) broad competencies, including both artistic and commercial skills (Hannekam and Bennet, 2017; Lingo and Tepper, 2013); and (2) diverse portfolios of work spanning disciplines (Frenette, 2017), sectors (Markusen et al, 2006), occupations (Throsby and Zednick, 2011) and/or markets (Jackson, 2004).…”