Creative Career Workshop for Art Making and Exhibiting Students

Nearly 20 Years of Teaching Art Making and Exhibiting

In this school incursion for Art Making and Exhibiting students, I work with students to talk all things ART CAREERS!
I have taught Year 11 and 12 Art Making for a long time, working closely with senior students as they develop their creative practice, prepare folios and exhibitions, and begin thinking seriously about what comes next.

I understand the excitement — and sometimes the uncertainty — that comes with being a senior art student. I’ve seen students with very different strengths, interests and ambitions find their own creative directions, and I’ve also seen how difficult it can be to imagine what a career in the arts might actually look like.

This experience is an important part of No Straight Lines. I understand the subject from both sides: as an art teacher who has guided students through their senior years, and as a working creative who has built a career across art, teaching, writing, illustration, publishing and workshops.

This means the workshop isn’t simply about telling students that creative careers are possible. It’s about giving them a realistic insight into what those careers can look like — and helping them recognise the skills they are already developing through Art Making that can take them in many different directions.

What happens after school if you want to build a career as an artist?

For students studying Art Making and Exhibiting, this is an exciting question — but it can also feel like a daunting one. What does it actually mean to be a professional artist? How do you turn your creative interests into a career? And is there really a single pathway from studying art at school to making a living from your creative work?

The answer is: no. There are no straight lines.

My No Straight Lines workshop can be specifically tailored for Art Making and Exhibiting students in Years 11 and 12, connecting the subject they are studying at school with the realities of developing a creative career beyond the classroom.

A creative career doesn’t have to look one particular way

When students imagine becoming an artist, they might picture exhibiting paintings in a gallery or working in a studio. While these can certainly be part of an artist’s career, the reality is much broader.

Artists can work across galleries, illustration, publishing, education, workshops, community projects, commissions, design, public art, festivals, arts organisations and many other areas.

They might have several creative jobs at once.

They might work part-time while developing their own practice.

They might collaborate with other artists.

They might discover a completely new direction several years after leaving school.

And sometimes, the career they eventually create is something they couldn’t have imagined when they were 17.

That’s the message at the heart of No Straight Lines.

Connecting Art Making and Exhibiting with the real world

Art Making and Exhibiting gives students an opportunity to develop their own artistic practice, experiment with ideas and materials, and consider how their work can be presented to an audience.

The No Straight Lines workshop builds on these experiences by helping students think about what happens when those skills move beyond the classroom.

We can explore questions such as:

• What does it mean to have an artistic practice?
• How do artists develop ideas over time?
• How do artists find opportunities to exhibit their work?
• What other creative roles can sit alongside being an artist?
• How can artists build an audience for their work?
• What skills are useful beyond making the artwork itself?
• How can teaching, writing, illustrating, publishing or running workshops become part of a creative career?
• What happens when your creative interests change?

The aim isn’t to give students a prescribed career pathway. Instead, it is to help them see that their creative practice can evolve.

From student artist to working creative

One of the most valuable things students can learn is that becoming a professional creative isn’t necessarily about suddenly becoming “an artist” when you finish school.

It can be a gradual process.

The skills they are developing now — generating ideas, researching, experimenting, refining work, responding to feedback, documenting their practice and presenting their ideas — are all skills they can continue to develop throughout their creative lives.

Students can also begin to think about the less visible parts of a creative career.

Artists don’t just make artwork.

They communicate. They write. They photograph and document their work. They apply for opportunities. They speak about their ideas. They collaborate. They teach. They network. They promote their work. They respond to setbacks and keep going.

These are all part of building a sustainable creative practice.

My own winding creative path

A key part of No Straight Lines is sharing my own experience.

My career hasn’t followed one neat pathway. My interests in art, teaching, writing, illustration, children’s books and working with young people have all connected in unexpected ways.

What I loved as a child has continued to influence what I do now.

What I studied led to opportunities I couldn’t have predicted.

And some of the things I do today grew from skills and interests that, at the time, didn’t seem connected at all.

I share these experiences honestly with students — including the uncertainty, the changes of direction and the unexpected opportunities — because I want them to understand that not having everything figured out is completely okay.

A workshop designed for Art Making and Exhibiting students

No Straight Lines can be tailored specifically for Art Making and Exhibiting classes, using students’ current experiences and interests as a starting point for exploring life beyond school.

The workshop encourages students to think beyond the question “What job will I get?” and instead consider:

What kind of creative life could I build?