A Model of Early-Stage Artistic Career Development among Chinese Fine Arts Graduates and Implications for Higher Art Education
Article Number: e2026082 | Available Online: June 2026 | DOI: 10.22521/edupij.2026.24.82
Ziwei Gong , Pengfei Chen
Full text PDF |
475 |
204
Abstract
|
Background/purpose. In recent years, China’s flourishing art industry has provided increasing opportunities for fine arts graduates. However, the development of an artistic career remains fraught with challenges. While little research has examined the early-career development of Chinese fine arts graduates, it remains unclear why their career trajectories are so precarious and how higher art education might better support students in pursuing their artistic ambitions. This study aims to investigate the career trajectories of fine arts graduates in China, analyze the challenges they face in the early stages of their careers, and ultimately develop a model of artistic careers for Chinese fine arts graduates. Materials/methods. The study employed a qualitative grounded theory approach, drawing on semi-structured interviews with 30 fine arts graduates and four art experts. Results. This study built a theoretical framework that traces graduates’ trajectories from art training and tests through higher art education to their transition into professional practice—whether along independent, official, or commercial artist paths. Conclusion. The findings contribute to the understanding of the career development of Chinese graduates after college. Practically, the study provides insights into how higher art education can be strengthened to facilitate the career development of fine arts graduates. |
Keywords: Artistic career, fine arts graduates, early career, higher art education, China
ReferencesAbbing, H. (2002). Why are artists poor? The exceptional economy of the arts. Amsterdam University Press. http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt45kdz4
Bille, T., & Jensen, S. (2018). Artistic education matters: Survival in the arts occupations. Journal of Cultural Economics, 42(1), 23-43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-016-9278-5
Bishop, S. (2023). Influencer creep: How artists strategically navigate the platformisation of art worlds. New Media & Society, 27(4), 2109-2126. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448231206090
Bradley, E. H., Curry, L. A., & Devers, K. J. (2007). Qualitative data analysis for health services research: Developing taxonomy, themes, and theory. Health Services Research, 42(4), 1758-1772. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2006.00684.x
Bridgstock, R. S. (2007). Success in the protean career: A predictive study of professional artists and tertiary arts graduates [Doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology]. Queensland University of Technology ePrints. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16575/1/Ruth_Bridgstock_Thesis.pdf
Campbell, J. L., Quincy, C., Osserman, J., & Pedersen, O. K. (2013). Coding in-depth semistructured interviews: Problems of unitization and intercoder reliability and agreement. Sociological Methods & Research, 42(3), 294-320. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124113500475
Carey, C. (2015). The careers of fine artists and the embedded creative. Journal of Education and Work, 28(4), 407-421. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639080.2014.997686
Chumley, L. (2016). Creativity class: Art school and culture work in postsocialist China. Princeton University Press. https://doi.org/10.23943/princeton/9780691164977.001.0001
Creative New Zealand. (2003). Portrait of the artist: a survey of professional practising artists in New Zealand.
Daniel, R. (2016). Creative artists, career patterns and career theory: Insights from the Australian context. Australian Journal of Career Development, 25(3), 91-98. https://doi.org/10.1177/1038416216670663
Daniel, R., & Johnstone, R. (2017). Becoming an artist: Exploring the motivations of undergraduate students at a regional Australian university. Studies in Higher Education, 42(6), 1015-1032. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2015.1075196
Duffy, B. E., & Meisner, C. (2022). Platform governance at the margins: Social media creators’ experiences with algorithmic (in)visibility. Media, Culture & Society, 45(2), 285-304. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221111923
Fang, J. (2020). Tensions in aesthetic socialization: Negotiating competence and differentiation in Chinese art test prep schools. Poetics, 79, 101443. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2020.101443
Fillis, I., Lee, B., & Fraser, I. (2022). The role of institutional relationships in shaping the career development of emerging artists. Arts and the Market, 12(2), 133-149. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAM-04-2022-0021
Fine, G. A. (2017). A matter of degree: Negotiating art and commerce in MFA education. American Behavioral Scientist, 61(12), 1463-1486. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764217734272
Frenette, A., & Dowd, T. J. (2020). Careers in the arts: who stays and who leaves? Strategic national arts alumni project special report. https://snaaparts.org/findings/reports/careers-in-the-arts-who-stays-and-who-leaves
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Aldine.
Green, F., & Henseke, G. (2021). Europe’s evolving graduate labour markets: Supply, demand, underemployment and pay. Journal for Labour Market Research, 55(1), 2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12651-021-00288-y
Grosemans, I., & De Cuyper, N. (2021). Career competencies in the transition from higher education to the labor market: Examining developmental trajectories. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 128, 103602. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2021.103602
He, A. (2022). Can art degree programs churn out real artists? The World of Chinese. https://www.theworldofchinese.com/2022/08/can-university-art-programs-churn-out-real-artists/
He, Y. (2022). Graduates' employability in the creative industry in China: What competencies, qualities, and skills Chinese graduates with an undergraduate degree in Fine Art need for employment in China [Doctoral dissertation, University for the Creative Arts]. University for the Creative Arts Research Repository. https://research.uca.ac.uk/6258/
Hesmondhalgh, D., & Baker, S. (2010). ‘A very complicated version of freedom’: Conditions and experiences of creative labour in three cultural industries. Poetics, 38(1), 4-20. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2009.10.001
Hjelde, K. (2020). Showing-knowing: the exhibition, the student, and the higher education art institution. Journal of Visual Art Practice, 19(1), 69-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/14702029.2020.1732613
Jeffri, J., Greenblatt, R., Friedman, Z., & Greeley, M. (1991). The artists training and career project: Painters. Columbia University.
Jewell, S., Park, S., & Crociata, A. (2022). Glass ceilings, sticky floors, and satisfaction: Rewards and remuneration. In S. Brook, R. Comunian, J. Corcoran, A. Faggian, S. Jewell, & J. Webb (Eds.), Gender and the Creative Labour Market: Graduates in Australia and the UK (pp. 53-73). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05067-1_3
Kerrigan, F., Brownlie, D., Hewer, P., & Daza-LeTouze, C. (2011). ‘Spinning’ Warhol: Celebrity brand theoretics and the logic of the celebrity brand. Journal of Marketing Management, 27(13-14), 1504-1524. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2011.624536
Klebesadel, H., & Kornetsky, L. (2023). Critique as signature pedagogy in the arts. In Exploring signature pedagogies (pp. 99-117). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003444732
Lee, B., Fraser, I., & Fillis, I. (2018). Creative futures for new contemporary artists: Opportunities and barriers. International Journal of Arts Management, 20(2), 9-19. http://www.jstor.org/stable/44989710
Lehman, K., & Wickham, M. (2014). Marketing orientation and activities in the arts-marketing context: Introducing a visual artists’ marketing trajectory model. Journal of Marketing Management, 30(7-8), 664-696. https://doi.org/10.1080/0267257X.2013.838987
Liu, Y. (2024). The meaning of autonomy: How artists justify career paths. Poetics, 105, Article e101915. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2024.101915
Long, T., & Johnson, M. (2000). Rigour, reliability and validity in qualitative research. Clinical Effectiveness in Nursing, 4(1), 30-37. https://doi.org/10.1054/cein.2000.0106
Luo, Y. (2022). Chinese contemporary art market prequel. Hiart. http://www.hiart.cn/feature/detail/66bktyt.html
Martin, N. D., & Frenette, A. (2017). Lost in transition: College resources and the unequal early-career trajectories of arts alumni. American Behavioral Scientist, 61(12), 1487-1509. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764217734273
Menger, P.-M. (2006). Artistic labor markets: Contingent work, excess supply and occupational risk management. In V. A. Ginsburg & D. Throsby (Eds.), Handbook of the economics of art and culture (Vol. 1, pp. 765-811). Elsevier. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/S1574-0676(06)01022-2
Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2015). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. John Wiley & Sons.
Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. (2021). The college entrance examination and admissions system for arts and sports majors is about to undergo major reforms: Strengthening institutional regulations to address three key challenges. http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xwfb/s5147/202109/t20210927_567356.html
Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China. (2023). Improving quality and ensuring fairness: making every effort to implement the 2024 art test work effectively. http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_xwfb/moe_2082/2023/2023_zl20/202311/t20231110_1090020.html
Patton, M. Q. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice. SAGE Publications.
Petrides, L., & Fernandes, A. (2020). The successful visual artist: The building blocks of artistic careers model. The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society, 50(6), 305-318. https://doi.org/10.1080/10632921.2020.1845892
Scarsbrook, S. (2021). Artists and the art school: Experiences and perspectives of fine art education & professional pedagogies in London art schools, 1986-2016 [Doctoral dissertation, Birkbeck, University of London]. Birkbeck Institutional Research Online. https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/46286/
Shao, Y., & Wang, C. (2021). Study on employment crisis and countermeasures of art college graduates——a case study of some fine arts colleges in Liaoning province. Journal of Liaoning Educational Administration Institute, 38(06), 98-101. https://doi.org/10.13972/j.cnki.cn21-1500/g4.2021.06.021.
Skaggs, R. (2024). Socially distanced artistic careers: Professional social interactions in early, established, and late career stages during COVID-19. Poetics, 103, Article e101769. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2023.101769
Stephens, K. (2001). Artists in residence in England and the experience of the year of the artist. Cultural Trends, 11(42), 41-76. https://doi.org/10.1080/09548960109365157
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. M. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. SAGE Publications, Inc.
Thom, M. (2016). Crucial skills for the entrepreneurial success of fine artists. Artivate: A Journal of Entrepreneurship in the Arts, 5(1), 3–24. https://artivate.org/index.php/artivate/article/view/48
Thom, M. (2017). Arts entrepreneurship education in the UK and Germany. Education + Training, 59(4), 406-426. https://doi.org/10.1108/ET-05-2016-0089
Thornton, S. (2008). Seven days in the art world. W.W. Norton & Co.
Throsby, C. D., & Zednik, A. (2010). Do you really expect to get paid?: An economic study of professional artists in Australia. Australia Council for the Arts. http://www.australiacouncil.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/79108/Do_you_really_expect_to_get_paid.pdf
Throsby, D., & Petetskaya, K. (2017). Making art work: An economic study of professional artists in Australia. https://creative.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/making-art-work-throsby-report-5a05106d0bb69.pdf
Throsby, D., & Zednik, A. (2011). Multiple job-holding and artistic careers: some empirical evidence. Cultural Trends, 20(1), 9-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/09548963.2011.540809
Whitaker, A., & Wolniak, G. C. (2022). Social exclusion in the arts: The dynamics of social and economic mobility across three decades of undergraduate arts alumni in the United States. Review of Research in Education, 46(1), 198-228. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X221089947
Xinhua News Agency. (2022). General office of the CPC central committee and general office of the state council issued the 14th Five-Year Plan for cultural development. Central Government of the People's Republic of China. https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2022-08/16/content_5705612.htm
Yan, Y. (2020). Out of School: What is the growth path of young artists? Artron.net. https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MjM5NTE2MTMyMA==&mid=2651171663&idx=2&sn=7e267433cd7857d161bb1622d0e3beec&chksm=bd0dbec88a7a37de8500a37ef1beef4bbf015bd479e8d33dd0025ef572193d108518e958bc95&scene=4#wechat_redirect
Zanti, N. (2015). Artists' identities : A study of the living and working conditions of visual artists in Cyprus [Doctoral dissertation, Birkbeck, University of London]. Online Repository of Birkbeck Institutional Theses. https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40159/1/Fullversion-2015ZantiNphdBBK.pdf
Zhang, C., & Zheng, S. (2020). Without making a splash, is it harder for post-90s artists to stand out? Hi Art. https://www.sohu.com/a/440067660_278692
Zhu, C. (2020). A bigger picture: The making of artists in contemporary China [Doctoral dissertation, Chinese University of Hong Kong]. CUHK Electronic Theses & Dissertations Collection. https://repository.lib.cuhk.edu.hk/en/item/cuhk-2627752