Employability and the Fine Art Student

This paper explores how the term ‘employability’ may be interpreted in the context of undergraduate education in fine art an area in which many graduates move onto a mix of self-employment part-time employment or masters level study. The action research inquired into the nature of the relationship between ‘Art School’ and the ‘Art World’ through exploring student perceptions of their post-study prospects and ambitions and how this affected their approaches to learning at undergraduate level. This was supplemented by desk research into the current literature on employability in fine art graduates. The research presents findings indicating that undergraduate students lacked awareness of the complex working realities of artists’ working lives that this was a source of anxiety and that this may encourage surface and strategic approaches to learning. There was also evidence that encouraging open and frank discussion and a realistic picture of their likely career paths and income levels reduced anxiety and made students feel more empowered. The research recommends that terms such as ‘capability’ ‘self-efficacy’ and ‘bold resourcefulness’ may be more appropriate than ‘employability’ when engaging fine art students in these discussions.