Artists Report Back

BFAMFAPhD. 2014, 15 pages, BFAMFAPhD. http://bfamfaphd.com/#artists-report-back

BFAMFAPhD unpacks assumptions and the realities of the “creative class.” Using data collected by the Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey, this report shares artists’ demographics, occupations, educational attainment, field of studies, and earnings and finds a surprisingly small overlap between those who attain arts degrees and those who are working artists. One such reason, as the authors lay out, are the disproportionately high costs associated with pursuing arts degrees. The report concludes with recommendations to the field on addressing the gap between working artists and arts graduates.