Any advice for someone who has just graduate with an MA in Art History and Curating and does photography but can't find work anywhere?
I've spent the last 4 months applying for entry level jobs but having no success becasue everywhere wants experience first but I am struggling to find places to gain experience - any help?
Replies16
- @Vikki Ross I hadn’t thought of this but you’re right! Thanks so much!
- @Gavin Kemp An interesting take - I’ll definitely take this on board, thanks!
- Have you tried contacting people you want to work with directly? You never know who might be looking for someone like you just as you make contact. At the very least, you'll start a relationship that could be beneficial later. Best of luck!
- Hi Georgia,I’m going to be mischievous, there are way to many people wanting to be photographers than there are paid gigs out there to make a living – but some do make it.All of those who make it all have one thing in common, that is a fire in their belly that burns to a point it hurts, plus at least one of the following :- 1) they are producing work that is out of this world and for many the seeds of this is clear in their teens, 2) they are streetwise and tenacious to a level most don’t understand and will succeed at everything they touch 3) or they have business and people skills that are effort less.Your portfolio needs to look like the work you want to do – and then you need to be able to convince others you are the person they want.In the commercial world that I work in the fact you can do the work is taken as a given – that’s why you find yourself sat in front of people pitching, after that it’s can they work with you and justifying your fee.I have 2 Masters degrees – one is in photography, a masters degree teaches you to think – and that is valuable. Masters degrees don’t teach you how to be a photographer/artist – that bit you need to work out for yourself. Armed with a masters and some of the qualities in para 2 do anything necessary, walk into an interview and make yourself invaluable.If I was in your position and someone asked me for experience – without any I’d have already read everything I could find about them and their work, I‘d be able to talk about their work and about 6 other artists or studios that are relevant to them, plus I’d have 3 ideas or projects to discuss as things that could add to their practice or business – and then with a bit of mischief tell them how valuable a fresh pair of eyes are! I should say I would be reading the room very carefully through out at every stage and adjusting to my audience all the time so I did not go too far or switch them off.Gavin
- @Chris Reeve This is really useful to see written out so thank you for taking your time to respond to me. I'll definitely check out your videos and that site, thank you!Georgia
- @Richard Depesando Thank you so much for your response - the advice I've received has been really encouraging and helpful. I am going to work towards carving my own place and I'm currently looking to publish small works etc like you said. Thanks once again, this has been really useful!
- @Richard Depesando Really encouraging advice!
- Hi Georgia. I'm seeing a lot of good, focussed MA and PHD recent graduates in the same position as you at the moment. When I finished my MA we went straight into a recession and I spent 2 years running a pub in Whitechapel, serving drinks to undergraduates who wouldn't make eye contact with me. I spent that time working with other recent graduates I knew, mostly unpaid, until I had a better idea of how I wanted to work in the professional world instead of the academic one. It wasn't easy - and back then we had no digital realm to help us. The advice I gave a student on here last week was start carving their own place, creating the work you want to do and using digital platforms to build a profile - my interest outside design is the built environment and twitter in particualar is ful lof great contet and discourse, start curating your own space on visual platforms and posting writen word content on Medium etc and build a following, make yourself known, find people working you have somethjing in common with - so you're generating your own professional 'experience'. Publish small texts, reviews and zines (digital is very cheap) and look for cultural 'gaps in the market' that interest you and so you're building a portfolio of real worl product and experience - you are your own client. I'm pretty sure you know most of this stuff yourself already - I'm also sure you know that even good positions in your field are as poorly paid as entry level jobs - you're going to have to look at multiple income streams at some point so start thinking that way now. Try and connect with small arts organistaions, offer them support so that you can come out of the relationship with something tangible that promotes you. Being able to write, think, have critical thinking AND create good visual content is fantastic. It's shit out there for everyone at the moment (despite what they may say on Linkedin) but the start of your career, no matter how hard - will always be the time when you have the most freedom and be the most resiliant. Good luck.
- @Pip Jamieson nice
- Hi Georgia,If you want to go down the photographer route then the https://www.the-aop.org/ should be a good place to start.When I started out ( many moons ago) they had an assistant job line. The details of all the members are on there which is a good place to start looking for employment.My business partner and I started a you tube channel recently for people wanting to enter the photography business, We have interviewed seasoned professionals with lots of advice for any one coming into the industry, we have only got a couple of interviews up ( more to follow) but take a look, it’s free advice from people that work in the industry.https://www.youtube.com/@lights_camera_reactionDrop me a DM and we can talk more on the phone.All the bestChris
- @Daniel Hawley-Lingham it’s actually in build right now 🙌 Should be live soon ❤️
- @Georgia Hunt you're welcome - apologies for all the typos - @Pip Jamieson please give us some editing capabilities
- @rune flaekoy Thanks so much for the advice! Will definitely give this a go
- @Daniel Hawley-Lingham Thank you so much for your repsonse - this has given me so much to think about and a new way to go about approaching it. I really appreciate your advice. My MA was focused on curating for Renaissance collections mostly.I think I'll take some time now and think like you said about my starting point and want path I want to begin pursuing, and hopefully this might help me start to put some things together. Thanks again for taking them time to respond!
- Hey Georgia - it's a hard time to come out of arts educaiton with everyone potentially tightening belts... but there are some things that can be done. First, make a conscious decision about what route you want to take. Unfortunaltely our tiny western minds can only really deal with singular disciplinary pathways and although you might see them as related the two things are actually on quite different trajectories in terms of how you will be percieved in the industry. In short: choose a practice in the art (curating) or a practice as an artist (photography) - if you can establiosh yourself to some extent in either then you can start to branch out later. Many artists are also curators... but it is more difficult to start at that point rather than build towards it.Secondly - 990 organisations have just been awarded NPO (National Portfolio Organisation) status by the ACE (Arts Council England) - this is a significant 3 year commitment and relative stability that will be starting up or continuing for a lot of organisations and jobs will be created on the back of it. ACE publish a list of awardees. Also regularly check the ACE jobs listing - this is for jobs across the industry and not for jobs at ACE itself https://www.artsjobs.org.uk/Thirdly - did your MA cover an professional practice or real world orientation. Were you given practical advice on what steps to take after graduation? This is a loaded question and I know the answer. However, there may be some alumni support that you can ask about that may be useful in just making contacts or starting someting up.Fourthly - and this is often what people reaort to - you make your own opportunities and put on an event that you curate... but, there is little money in this and may only help to eat time and resources for free. However, it can be the building block to grants and funding awards if you can start to create a track record. Worth considering even if you have to fit it in around other things you do.Hope that helps a little.P.S. do you have a curatorial speciality - e.g museums, collections, contemporary art?
- make an email temlpate that you can send to a lot of companies that you think could be interested you can use indeed,com or contact companies here on the dots.You could also make a video where you tell about yourself make in private on youtube and send it in the email. Just some ideas i have.Ihope it can help you
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