Studio Arts Careers
Make a living AND make a difference.
Many KCAD Studio Arts graduates go on to establish themselves as independent or gallery-represented professional artists who exhibit their work nationally and internationally, pursue artist residencies and grant-funded projects, and share their knowledge and experience through workshops, community arts programs, and other educational platforms. Some first choose to further their education by pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree.
Other graduates build on their artistic practice by putting their critical thinking,
communications, and creative problem-solving skills to use in a wide variety of arts-related
careers.
Possible Careers
- Archivist
- Arts Administrator
- Art Appraiser
- Art Consultant/Buyer
- Art Critic
- Art Director
- Curator
- Entrepreneur / Small Business Owner
- Gallery Owner
- Millwright/Furniture Maker
- Museum Exhibit Designer
- Museum Preparator
- Model/Prop Maker
- Set Designer
- Special Effects Artist
Where KCAD Studio Arts alumni work
- Princeton University Art Museum / Princeton, NJ / Museum Preparator
- All My Relations Gallery / Minneapolis, MN / Gallery Director
- Dinderbeck Studios / Grand Rapids, MI / Owner
- rag & bone / New York, NY / Custom Fabrication Associate
- EA-Craftworks Metalworking and Design Shop / Grand Rapids, MI / Owner, Operator
- Golden Apple Art Residency / Bar Harbor, ME / Director
- Handmade Frames / Brooklyn, NY / Transportation Coordinator
- Mint Maven / Grand Rapids, MI / CEO
- Rebecca Randall Bryan Art Gallery at Coastal Carolina University / Conway, SC / Director
- Michigan State Capitol Building / Lansing, MI / Lead Decorative Painter
- Solstice Handmade / Grand Rapids, MI / Owner, Operator
- Latinas Welding Guild / Indianapolis, IN / Executive Director
- Supergenius Studio / Oregon City, OR / Animator/Animation Director
- Transfigure Print Co. / Grand Rapids, MI / Owner, Operator
- Woosah Printshop and Outfitters / Grand Rapids, MI / Owner, Operator
Where KCAD Studio Arts alumni have attended graduate school
- Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ)
- Bowling Green State University (Bowling Green, OH)
- California College of the Arts (Oakland, CA)
- Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA)
- Cranbrook Academy of Art (Bloomfield Hills, MI)
- Lesley University (Cambridge, MA)
- New York Academy of Art (New York, NY)
- Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (Halifax, Canada)
- Ohio University (Athens, OH)
- Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia, PA)
- SACI College of Art and Design (Florence, Italy)
- Savannah College of Art and Design (Savannah, GA)
- School of the Art Institute (Chicago, IL)
- School of Visual Arts (New York, NY)
- Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ)
- Tamarind Institute of Lithography at the University of New Mexico
- University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH)
- University of Pretoria (Pretoria, South Africa)
- University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC)
- Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA)
Resources
- Artist Help Network
- Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook – Craft and Fine Artists
- CollegeGrad – Craft and Fine Artists Career Information
- National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
- New York Foundation for the Arts – Professional Development for Artists
- ONet OnLine – Fine Art Career Information
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