The Future of Arts Looks Promising

Performing and Visual Arts: THE FUTURE LOOKS PROMISING

By Laurie Higgins

ike many other industries, the arts took a beating during the pandemic. But because so many people missed them and realized how essential they are, careers in the arts are predicted to bounce back quickly once things open up. The pandemic is even affecting which fields in the arts experts predict will grow. “I think that when we look at where we are right now and the problems we face as a society we’re always looking for interventions that can help to build community, that can be ways to bring people together, and this is what the arts can do,” says Jen Guillemin, Senior Portfolio and Visual Arts Admissions Consultant at ArtsBridge in Boston.

We asked Guillemin and Amy Golden, founder of College Options in the Performing Arts (COPA) in New York for their

predictions for the top 10 careers in the arts in the

future. Here are their best bets:

ART THERAPY

Art therapies cover many different disciplines, such as music therapy, dance therapy, drama therapy, and traditional art therapy.

“There are master’s programs and they are certified so these are bona fide professions and they are careers that are growing,” Goldin says. “I think the therapies are going to grow because it’s going to take a long time for people to recover from this pandemic.”

ARTIST AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

To some extent artists of all kinds have historically had an entrepreneurial streak, but now visual artists can start their own Etsy shop and then use their other social media to drive traffic to their shop. Musicians and performing artists can start their own YouTube channels or find an audience on TikTok.

COMBINING TECHNOLOGY WITH ART

This was a growing field that the pandemic broke wide open. Goldin doesn’t think it will go away when the pandemic is over. Music classes require the use of technology to synchronize performances and collaborate in new ways. Actors are now able to set up their own audition reels and learn about lighting and editing. They are also using technology and innovation to solve problems and develop new platforms for their work.

VOICE-OVER WORK

Voice-over work is a production technique where a voice is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. This is a growing field for both actors and teachers. As more actors are turning to voice-over work, they need voice-over teachers to help them learn the techniques. A good voice is only the starting point.

“You really need to learn a lot of things,” Goldin says. “It’s everything from learning to modulate your voice to different kinds of inflection. The sound of a deodorant commercial is different from the sound of a Porsche commercial.”

USER EXPERIENCE (UX) DESIGN AND USER INTERFACE (UI) DESIGN

UX and UI design utilize the concept of making products and services that are human-centered. It’s the process of taking into account human needs and behavior to create positive relationships between products and services and the people who use them. UX deals with purpose and functionality. UI deals with the quality of the interaction that the end-user has with the product.

WEB DESIGN

Web designers focus on the layout of websites and design the interactive elements that appear on them. This job requires an understanding of coding and the prevailing trends in web aesthetics. Virtual reality is also a growing field, along with game design.

IMMERSIVE THEATER AND ART INSTALLATION

Guillemin explains that art collectives like Meow Wolf bring groups of artists together to create large installations of art across a variety of media, including architecture, sculpture, painting, photography, video production, crossreality, music, audio engineering, writing, costuming and performance. With locations in Santa Fe, Las Vegas, and Denver, they have created travel destinations for those seeking an immersive art experience. Many theaters are doing the same by breaking through “the fourth wall” and directly interacting with the audience.

CROSS-DISCIPLINARY JOBS

Arts jobs have become more cross-disciplinary with people with different skill sets coming together to create a product or service. One concrete example is a company like MedRhythms, which utilizes the concept that music can heal people’s brains. They work with music, sensors, and software to create neurological interventions to target the rehabilitation and prevention of neurological injuries and diseases. Other cross disciplines include using theater artists to do cultural sensitivity training at hospitals or schools.

“This opens opportunities for artists that have yet to be imagined,” Guillemin says.

TEACHING IN ALL ART DISCIPLINES

As people hunkered down inside their homes during the past year, many of them reconnected with “their inner maker self,” Guillemin says.

“They’re picking up and playing an instrument or drawing or writing, and this has ignited something in all of us that we see the value in this. I hope that post-COVID that demand will go up for the arts because people have reconnected with this expressive side of themselves.”