Here’s some fun ways to teach art careers to your students. As an art teacher and lover of art, I feel like it is my responsibility to introduce students to a variety of careers that involve the arts. It is important for students to start setting goals and begin thinking of their future at a young age.
Art Career Scavenger Hunt
Instead of showing my students a boring presentation created by me, I have them work with a partner to complete an art career scavenger hunt. Prior to class, I hang signs in the classroom or hallways. During class, my student’s work in pairs with a clipboard and collect information about each art career on a chart I created. They must find each art career sign and summarize the information about that career onto the chart. They learns about the job description, education needed, salary, and possible jobs within that career. The Art Career Scavenger Hunt is included it in my Art Games bundle.
Art Career Posters
These are a few of the art careers I thought might interest my students. They are also the same art careers I used to create the Art Career Scavenger Hunt. I created colorful posters for each of the careers with a short job description and possible job opportunities for each career. I hang the posters in my classroom with the hope that my students will read the posters during class time or maybe get inspired and start thinking of art related careers that might interest them. My Art Career Posters are available here.
Adding Art Career Content to Lessons
The easiest way to teach my students about a variety of art careers is incorporating the careers into an art lesson. For example, I teach my students about Antoni Gaudi and the roles of an architect in my Haunted House Drawing lesson. Sometimes it can be a stretch, but when applicable I run with it. I teach my students about the roles of a graphic designer in my Food Truck and Candy Shoe lessons. My students learn about industrial design when designing their very own stuffy in my Ugly Doll lesson. The opportunities are there and I try to incorporate that teachable moment into my lesson planning whenever possible.
Bell Work
I have a section in my weekly bell work called “Wise Wednesday”. I ask my students to read a short passage and answer questions from the text. It is often about Art History; however, some other passages are about art careers. The passage will provide my students insight about the occupation and ask clarifying questions about the career to check for comprehension. Again, it is just a paragraph they read independently, but it is just another easy way to make them knowledgeable of possible art careers.
Research and Classroom Presentations
As a whole group, my students make a list of art related careers on the board. They then have the choice to work solo or with a partner to research an occupation from the list. They use computers to research information about the career, such as salary, job description and education. After they have collected their information, they present the information to the class. This can be done in person, virtually or by creating a poster or tri-fold board to share with the entire school.
There are so many possibilities and opportunities to teach my art students about the various art related careers. After all, if they are in an art class they most likely enjoy art, and sometimes believe artist is the only career available to them. By opening their eyes to the wide variety of possibilities I might just help one of my students choose their future career.
List of Art Careers
Here’s a short list of some of the art careers I introduce my students to. Of course, there are many more but I think this list provides a good variety of art related jobs.
- Graphic Designer
- Set Designer
- Photographer
- Book Illustrator
- Animator
- Fashion Designer
- Fine Artist
- Medical Illustrator
- Industrial Designer
- Art Therapist
- Architect
- Art Teacher
- Interior Designer
- Museum Curator
- Makeup Artist
Thanks for Reading, Trista
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