What can I do after studying in the French Academy of Fine Arts?

What can I do after graduation from French Academy of Fine Arts? Generally speaking, there are seven directions:

1. Independent artist

The original intention of French public academy of fine arts is to train students who are full of talent and love art to become independent artists. Generally speaking, most graduates of the Academy of Fine Arts who have obtained DNAP/DNSEP diplomas choose to become independent artists.

What is an "independent artist"? Whether you are engaged in painting, photography, sculpture, installation art or even performance art, the Academy of Fine Arts should first cultivate students' independence in artistic concepts. Do you have a unique idea? Whether it can be presented in a unique artistic way; Whether you can thoroughly understand and convey your creative consciousness to the audience. The above three points are the conditions for becoming an independent artist.

Independent artists are not bound by any company, enterprise or institution at all, so they belong to the category of freelancers in social and professional division of labor, just like doctors, lawyers and business consultants. They exist in the form of individual companies, both artists and corporate legal persons. In the French judicial environment, it is impossible to sign labor employment contracts with enterprises and institutions, and instead, it is a cooperation contract between companies. The creative environment is relaxed and the income is self-financing.

Independent artists mainly make a living by selling their works to galleries; Providing art education courses for art or private institutions; Complete the ordering of public works of art by enterprises or governments. It varies according to the category of independent artists' works.

2. Independent designer

Most of the students who have graduated from the design department of public art institutes or private art institutes with DNAT/DNSEP diplomas will choose to become independent designers. Compared with the pure art industry, the subdivision of the design industry is more clear and commercial, so the students of the design department often aim at becoming independent designers and creating their own brands. Whether it is clothing design, graphic design, product design or interior design, there are fixed rules and customer groups in the industry.

The difference from the pure art major is that the design industry emphasizes work experience and teamwork more than the "single-handedness" of independent artists. Therefore, if you want to be a qualified independent designer, you first need to practice in major companies, enterprises or social institutions, and then accumulate enough experience to improve your working ability and broaden your horizons. For example, graphic designers can choose traditional print media or emerging online media; Fashion designers will naturally choose some small and medium-sized clothing brands as the starting point; Interior designers are more inclined to seek opportunities in architectural design firms.

To become an independent designer is to jump out of the limitations of the enterprise and create your own brand after accumulating enough experience. So it takes a long time to prepare before this. It should be noted that "Rome was not built in a day." Students who are interested in becoming independent designers should also be psychologically prepared. After all, in the designer industry, the beautiful and professional portfolio accumulated by countless cases is a major prerequisite for their career success.

Therefore, in terms of employment, designers generally start as interns, experience changes in the workplace, and finally become independent designers. In the process of performing their duties, the company will sign a normal labor contract with the company, and independent designers, like independent artists, are freelancers, responsible for their own profits and losses and at their own risk.

3. Art curator

Art curator is also a very interesting career. The word "curator" comes from the English word "curator" and is the full name of "exhibition planner". Refers to the professionals who are responsible for the conception, organization and management of art exhibition activities. In the western context, "curator" usually refers to the professionals who are responsible for the research, storage and display of collections in non-profit art institutions such as museums and art galleries, or the professionals who plan and organize art exhibitions, that is, permanent curators. Corresponding to it is "independent curator", which is usually translated as "independent curator" or "independent planner". The word "independent curator" in China is different from the permanent curator in art institutions such as art galleries and museums.

There are two kinds of art curators. One is a curator who belongs to a museum, exhibition hall or institution and has an employment relationship with the institution. Usually, many students from the Academy of Fine Arts choose to practice in institutions such as museums or contemporary art centers. If the internship period is excellent, institutions are likely to continue to hire them. In this way, you have taken the first step as a curator. The most important ability of institutional curators is the reserve of artistic knowledge, especially historical theory. In France, students majoring in art in ordinary universities may lag far behind artists in the Academy of Fine Arts in their creative ability. However, they often have rigorous and solid academic research on history, which has laid a solid foundation for their future institutional curation.

Corresponding to institutional curators are "independent curators", who are freelancers. In recent years, with the prosperity of the art market, a number of independent domestic curators such as Fan Dian and Gao Shiming have emerged in China.

Strictly speaking, in the second half of the 20th century, especially around the 1960s, independent curators began to appear in western society. An obvious evidence is that Independent Curator International was established in new york, USA on 1975 to promote the understanding and appreciation of contemporary art through international roving exhibitions and other related activities.

There is an article saying that HaraldSzeemann, a Swiss, is the originator of the "independent curator" of the hot industry in the art world. The exhibition "When Attitude Becomes Form:" Work-Process-Conception iPts- Situation-Information "curated by him in new york on 1969 has set an important coordinate for contemporary art history, and its unique curatorial ideas and techniques have also laid a basic prototype for the new professional field of" independent curator ". Schzeman is the chief curator of the 48th and 4xx Venice Biennale (1999 and 200 1).

Since 1980s, independent curators have begun to play a leading role in the planning of western contemporary art exhibitions, and their influence and power are growing. These "independent curators" wander among artists, art galleries and patrons, and plan many creative and influential art exhibitions with their wisdom, ability and relationships.

At present, independent western curators active in the world include Harald Seaman, Hans-Urrijo Briest and others.

Independent curators need to have a unique artistic vision, an anti-traditional and anti-institutional thinking angle, as well as a good artistic accomplishment and business sense.

4. Art market

There are mainly two kinds of people in the art market here. One is the operator of art, such as the gallery owner. The other is the operator of artists, such as art agents.

In this industry, there are many aristocratic men and aspiring young people. If financial resources permit, it is also the dream of many artists to become a gallery owner and have their own special style gallery. As a senior profession, gallery owners are not immediately available to students who have just graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts. This profession seems to be dedicated to money, but it actually covers a wide range. The most important abilities are "Histoired 'art" art history theory and "marchéd'art" art market, which are typical works combining aesthetics and commerce, and it is difficult to control without original vision and thinking. Friends who are interested in this career can practice in the gallery after graduation, and learn how to identify good works of art, how to deal with a large number of customers, and how to organize small art exhibitions and art salons.

The other part is art agency. Art brokers exist in many industries related to art, whether it is entertainment, design or art circles. The art brokerage industry is essentially a public relations and intermediary industry. Excellent young artists need someone to discover their talents and show them to the public. An excellent art agent needs not only Bole's vision, but also Deng Wendi's emotional intelligence, and can deal with clients such as galleries, enterprises and publishing houses to match artists. They also need to have a clear mind and good artistic accomplishment. As an art agent, his men may hold many artists. He is like a gambler at a poker table. When facing a project, he should always know which card to use to deal with it. The income of art agents comes from sharing with independent artists.

5. Art critic

Art critics or we can also call them "critics". This is a group of experts who specialize in commenting on all kinds of art that is happening. The normal operation of the art market is inseparable from art critics, whose hard work plays an inestimable role in the development of the art market. This not only helps to solve the economic problems of art critics, but also helps them to clarify their functions and improve their criticism level.

There are few pure "critics", often industry experts, practitioners or university professors. Because the critical work itself requires the author to have a huge knowledge reserve, solid arguments and arguments, and more importantly, academic prestige. They are powerful artists. Those who are interested in making a career in this direction need to focus on artistic theory research. Generally speaking, compared with the Academy of Fine Arts, ordinary universities that can get doctoral degrees are more suitable for students who like art theory research for further study. At the same time, universities can also provide more literature and funds to support the research of art critics. The income sources of art critics are mainly academic funds and manuscript fees provided by colleges and universities.

6. Art teacher

Art teacher is one of the choices of many art students after graduation, and the threshold of the profession of teacher spans a lot. Both doctoral tutors in the college entrance examination class and those in the Academy of Fine Arts can be regarded as teachers engaged in art teaching, but their ability requirements and income sources are very different. In France, becoming a formal teacher is a very difficult process. In addition to obtaining a nationally recognized diploma, you also need to participate in the teacher qualification certification organized by the state. The salary of teachers in the establishment is greater than or equal to that of civil servants. Ordinary substitute or institutional teachers do not belong to this category. They either have employment relations with institutions or travel to and from multiple institutions as freelancers to teach.

7. artistic director

Art director is a professional title, which is singled out here because he is an art-related profession with a wide range of knowledge requirements. The artistic director first entered the public eye mainly in the fashion industry. For example, karl lagerfeld, the famous "Galeries Lafayette" and artistic director of Chanel, wears black sunglasses, meticulous white hair and a tight suit. Or Anna Untul, editor-in-chief of American vogue, a bobo head that never goes out of fashion, with fashionable and elegant clothes. They hold great power in their hands.

Compared with a brand, the artistic director has the function of controlling the aesthetic taste of the brand; At the same time, they also have the right to kill the works of their designers or artists. As a superior profession, they should not only have the commercial consciousness of gallery owners, but also have the unique vision of art brokers and solid artistic accomplishment of art critics. Finally, they have to be grounded, because they are not bosses. Therefore, the artistic directors in the circle, whether they are clothing enterprises, famous galleries or large publishing houses, give me the feeling that they are older and more stable. After several years' experience in the art circle, I can only stand in this position by washing lead. There is a saying in English called "NoblessOblige", and the so-called "those who hold high positions have great responsibilities". Therefore, the high salary and scenery of this profession are by no means in vain.