For this Professional Practices course, we will look at the practical possibilities for your life after art school. Emphasis will be on balancing your artistic practice with the financial demands of everyday life, on integrating your career path(s) with your artistic values and integrity, and on developing “branching paths” that open new possibilities. 

We will explore various avenues, such as exhibiting in galleries and museums, starting a business, working on commissions, art writing, social practice, and forming a collective, a publication, or an independent gallery. We will look at the current financial, practical, and ethical ramifications of each of these avenues. We will explore what matters when deciding where, geographically, to begin your career. 

We will learn such skills as developing proposals, presentations, artists’ statements, and resumes; and of obtaining grants, residencies, commissions, art-related employment, studio space, and representation. We will also touch on art law, copyright, budgeting, and taxes for artists.

We will meet RISD alumni who are currently developing their careers as artists and designers, hearing about their paths from graduation to living as artists. There will be guest speakers from galleries, public art agencies, and design businesses. There will some readings and course resources. 
 

Elective