Who Did You Meet at the Venice Biennale? Education-to-Work Transition Enhancers for Aspiring Arts Professionals in Australia

Abstract

Precarious employment and unpaid labour are common features of the cultural and creative industries. While existing literature highlights the benefit of professional development in building careers, it focuses on self-driven rather than formalised activities. Social capital and social disadvantage are recognised as major factors limiting career success. Yet, it is unclear whether formalised professional development programs offer advantages to overcoming such barriers. This article examines a professional development scheme led by a government-funded cultural agency that provides cultural workers with opportunities to develop education-to-work ‘transition enhancers’. Using data from 45 participants in the Australia Council for the Arts’ Venice Biennale Professional Development Program, we find that the program enables access to three transition enhancers (professional experience, social connections and international experience). However, the program’s lack of structure ensures the benefits of participation are most effective for those who bring a proactive approach to engaging in events and building social relations.

‘People don’t buy art, they buy artists’: Robot artists – work, identity, and expertise

“…Ai-Da arguably bucks that trend, seemingly coming from 'nowhere' and reaching high-profile status from the start. Given the 'variable and non-linear pathways' relating to working in the creative industries that Vincent et al (2021) describe in their discussion of professional development schemes, the ways in which Ai-Da's strategised artistic identity leads to accelerated career development is particularly significant. The trajectory of Ai-Da the robot artist then complicates conventional ideas about creative work career pathways.…”