As one of the United States’ well-established cultural hubs with a reputation for turning nobodies into overnight sensations, Los Angeles is home to an immense number of artists and places a unique emphasis on cultivation of the arts. Los Angeles County even has a webpage dedicated specifically to ensuring access to and development of the city’s artistically inclined population. Keep reading…
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About Los Angeles Art Jobs
Los Angeles is bursting at the seams with jobs in the fine arts and related sectors. Of course, that comes with the trade-off of the city’s competitive nature: a high saturation of artists means jobs are in high demand, so becoming an overnight success is rarely the case. This is compounded by the current economic state of the company in which most galleries are closed or have limited access and live performance is largely out of the question. As a result, the artistic job market has shrunk considerably, and Los Angelean artists have been forced to adapt to a socially distant art world.
Types of Positions
It is important to acknowledge the sheer breadth of artistic positions available in the city of Los Angeles. These can range from art teaching positions to gallery workers to studio support to self-employed artists. Our assessment of currently available jobs and salaries is based on public postings and thus does not capture the significant effect that connections and references can have in finding employment in the arts.
Another notable characteristic of this sector is that most artists find themselves working multiple gigs at once, usually combining self-employment with a gallery position or other more supportive role. Thus, our findings are not fully representative of the artistic job hunt in LA but attempt to generalize salaries and potential positions available in the city.
Requirements & Compensation
An art teacher in Los Angeles typically has a starting salary of $40,000 annually, but that number can be considerably higher or lower depending upon the employer. Art teacher employers tend to be local school systems but can also include one of LA’s many cultural centers or galleries.Teaching positions often require both a teaching degree and considerable artistic experience but have the added benefit of being more stable and permanent than many other artistic roles.
Another major job in the arts is working for a gallery. Los Angeles is home to hundreds of different galleries, ranging from internationally recognized locations to bare bones display spaces. Gallery positions range from attendant roles to curatorial positions, with attendants often making minimum wage or slightly over and curators making an average of $70,000 annually. Curators must be highly qualified with proven expertise in their area, both artistic and critical.
Finally, Los Angeles is home to multiple well-known artists who have the funds and space to employ studio support. These roles are an excellent way for emerging artists to learn technical skills and work under the mentorship of an expert in their field. These jobs are often paid hourly and make minimum wage or slightly over.
Conclusion
Overall, most artists are happy in their line of work because they have the agency and flexibility to choose how they spend their time but the major downside is the occasional unpredictability and common challenge of finding consistent work that pays a sufficient salary.