Illuminating Career Paths in the Art World

What I Learned From Reviewing NYFA Classifieds Listings as a Summer Intern 

As a current college student who is considering what career path I want to pursue in the art world, I learned immensely throughout the process of reviewing opportunity and job listings on the NYFA Classifieds job board during my summer internship at New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). In college, I am studying visual art, art history, and entrepreneurship. My personal creative practice consists primarily of making both analog and digital photo-based work, and I also run a commercial portrait photography business. In this vein, I am considering how I might supplement and continue my creative practice after I graduate with a role in arts administration. 

NYFA Classifieds is one of the leading job boards for the arts and culture sector, where artists, arts administrators, and museum professionals can find jobs and internships; opportunities including open-calls and residencies; and studio spaces. There are a variety of new listings posted everyday, and NYFA’s Communications team diligently reviews each listing that advertisers submit to ensure that they are relevant to the arts and culture community and adhere to labor laws. As I trained on how to review these listings, I became aware of job roles and opportunities that I did not know previously existed. Some of these roles included managing a residency program, curating digital art exhibitions, and working in public art administration to integrate art into urban environments. 

It can be easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of opportunities and jobs that exist in the arts and culture industry, especially when first entering the workforce. However, after reviewing a number of Classifieds listings, I noticed that these opportunities can be broken down into distinct career paths and sectors. Understanding these various career avenues and sectors provides a strong starting point for demystifying careers within the art world, and finding a potential path forward as a young artist or student interested in working in the arts and culture industry. 

Career Paths & Roles in the Arts & Culture Space

Some of the most prominent advertisers on NYFA Classifieds include museums, galleries, auction houses, and arts nonprofit organizations or foundations. Some potentially lesser-known job pathways could involve job opportunities in art conservation and restoration, art advisory and consulting firms, and art handling and logistics firms. 

• Museums offer a wide range of career opportunities, from curatorial positions to educational roles, conservation work, and administrative functions. Each department plays a crucial role in the institution’s overall mission to preserve, present, and support the arts. 
• Galleries can encompass work in a variety of roles such as gallery manager, sales associate, art handler, and registrar. Galleries tend to be smaller than museums, providing a dynamic work environment where one can engage directly with artists, collectors, and the public. 
• Auction houses like Christie’s and Sotheby’s offer positions in auctioneering, cataloging, client relations, and logistics. These roles require a deep understanding of the art market and the ability to appraise and handle high-value artworks.
• Arts foundations and nonprofits are integral to the support and promotion of the arts. Typical departments include development, communications and marketing, education, and program management. These organizations often focus on community engagement and advocate supporting artists at different stages in their careers. 
• Art advisory firms and consultancies work with collectors to build and manage art collections. These roles require expertise in art history, market trends, and client relations.

Additionally, for those dedicated to their creative practice, being a practicing artist may be a viable option, however many artists take on supplementary roles to support their practice financially and professionally.

Listed below are some of the tools and skill sets that may enable you to find work in the arts and culture industry. 

Skills to Cultivate & Tools to Learn

During my internship, I observed frequent mentions of specific technological tools, platforms, and software that NYFA Classifieds advertisers desired among potential job candidates. It can be helpful to cultivate knowledge of platforms that pertain to specific roles one is interested in pursuing that align with the unique responsibilities of each job. For example, it would likely be important to understand client relations management (CRM) tools, as well as digital marketing and content creation tools for marketing roles. 

• Adobe Creative Suite: Adobe programs including Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, and Acrobat were most frequently mentioned. Knowledge of Adobe Suite is often essential for roles in design, marketing, and digital content creation.
• Microsoft Office Suite and Google Suite: NYFA Classifieds advertisers particularly sought applicants familiar with Microsoft Excel, Word, and Powerpoint; as well as Google Sheets, Docs, Drive, and Calendar. Fundamental skills for administrative and project management roles.
• Client Relations Management (CRM) Software: Tools like HubSpot, Salesforce, and NEON are valuable for managing client relationships and marketing efforts. CRM experience is especially important for client-facing roles in marketing, sales, and communications. 
• Specialized Art Databases: Platforms such as ArtLogic, Artwork Archive, Artbase, Artneral, and FileMaker Pro were commonly mentioned by NYFA Classifieds advertisers who represented galleries or museums. ArtLogic was mentioned most frequently as a platform that many galleries use to streamline business operations and track inventories. 
• Accounting and Fundraising Platforms: QuickBooks, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, and Raiser’s Edge are a few common platforms that are nonprofit-specific financial management tools.

Familiarity with these platforms can enhance one’s resume and job prospects in the arts and culture industry. Even if you haven’t used these tools or software in a previous job role, many platforms offer free training tutorials or information to bolster your resume in a relevant way. Listed below are a few starting points to discover resources and gain proficiency in a few key types of technology used in the arts and culture industry:

• Adobe Tutorials: Familiarize yourself with tutorials on photo editing and retouching in Photoshop, as well as branding and graphic design tutorials for Illustrator and InDesign. 
• Hubspot Academy: Free online courses and certifications on topics including email marketing, inbound and outbound marketing, sales and data management, and HubSpot tutorials to familiarize yourself with CRM functionality. 
• ArtLogic Tutorials: These free online videos and support tutorials that ArtLogic created can foster an understanding of common art database features even without having direct access to a database through a company or organization. 

Across the board, I also noticed that advertisers on NYFA Classifieds sought candidates with skills and qualifications including:

• Strong writing and verbal communication skills
• Excellent organizational and multitasking abilities
• Familiarity and proficiency with social media 
• Experience with database management 

Balancing a Creative Practice with an Arts & Culture Career 

As I discovered while reviewing NYFA Classifieds listings, there are many unexpected ways in which having a job in the arts and culture space can complement your personal artistic practice. Some of these benefits can include having steady income to sustain your practice and livelihood, and full-time positions may offer additional stability and benefits such as health insurance. A job role in the arts and culture industry can also enable you to develop knowledge of your discipline that you otherwise would not have access to, and potentially build relationships with other artists or curators. For example, if you have a creative practice in ceramics, working or interning as a studio technician at a pottery studio could allow you to create more work and have access to materials. 

Similarly, I came across numerous job postings while reviewing NYFA Classifieds listings that could potentially benefit my personal photographic practice if I decide to continue creating art after I finish my studies. One of these opportunities was a position as a grant writer at a community darkroom and film lab in New York City which included the benefit of having access to darkroom facilities outside of working hours as well as free film processing and scanning. Another opportunity involved leading public photography exhibition tours and facilitating community events centered around photographic processes, which would enable me to build a network of other photographers and understand the nuances of presenting photographs in a museum or gallery setting. Furthermore, even though it wasn’t a full time job position, interning at NYFA this summer and being immersed in an arts nonprofit organization has allowed me to gain knowledge of art and culture industry standards and how artists present their work, which has helped me tweak my photography website and craft a more purpose-driven artist statement. 

In this sense, I have learned how having a job in the art world can propel your artistic career rather than the common misconception that it only takes away from your creative practice. Instead of choosing between working in the art world or solely devoting time to your creative practice as a full-time artist, pursuing both at the same time can allow you to cultivate skills that are transferable to both careers. The same administrative skills that may be developed in an arts and culture job role could be applied to sell more of your personal artwork or elevate your portfolio, as you are exposed to behind-the-scenes tools or institutional processes like the grant writing application cycle that supports artists and their practices. Likewise, having your own artistic practice could bolster your career prospects and unique perspective in the arts and culture industry, as employers are likely to value candidates who have a deep understanding and passion for the arts. 

Ultimately, it can be difficult to determine how to balance being a practicing artist alongside a full-time or part-time job in the art world, but understanding how arts administration work can directly inform my personal creative practice has helped me to become more confident about working in the arts and culture industry while simultaneously continuing to create art. 

– Julianna Martin, NYFA Intern in Communications/Classifieds, Fiscal Sponsorship, and NYFA Learning

Put these tips to use by finding your next job on NYFA Classifieds, the go-to listings site for artists, arts administrators, and museum professionals. Follow us @nyfa_classifieds on TikTok for more creative career tips.