If you’re considering majoring in art, you’re more than likely torn between whether you should follow your head or follow your heart. Society loves to play off this dichotomy, as if people who are artistically inclined base all of their decisions off of emotion rather than reason. But creativity and rationality don’t have to be mutually exclusive, as illustrated by these logical reasons to get a degree in art
1. College is Where Powerful Connections Are Made
There’s no question about it: art is a tough industry to break into. If you want to make a living at it, you’ll have to network with other artists. There’s no better place to do this than college, where you’ll be surrounded by talented colleagues and experienced faculty.
But another oft-overlooked perk is that most colleges have established partnerships with local galleries and museums. This means it will be easier for you to get your work out there. Williamson | Knight Gallery in Portland, for example, hosted PNCA’s MFA exhibits. The local paper wrote about it, and now those students have some publicity behind their names.
2. Art is a Lucrative Market
According to the European Fine Art Foundation’s 2017 Art Market Report, total global sales of art topped $45 billion in 2016. What this shows is that there is a demand for fine art. Your job as an artist is to figure out how to meet that demand and satisfy the needs of your customers.
What the general public fails to understand is that art is as much of a business as it is a passion. That’s why it’s crucial to attend an accredited institution, where you’ll have the opportunity to study the market in full detail, to get a degree in art.
3. Doing What You Enjoy is Healthy
If the thought of working a standard 9 to 5 job is enough to make you feel lethargic, you’re not alone. Forcing yourself to work in a field that doesn’t excite or motivate you will eventually lead to burnout. Over time, burnout affects your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing, with symptoms like chronic exhaustion, insomnia, loss of appetite, anger, and depression.
In other words, if you really want to get a degree in art, you should do so even if for no other reason than your own health and sanity.
Steve Jobs once said, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
Think about that the next time you try to talk yourself out of doing what you truly want to do.
