Artists, identity, place: implications for higher education

Artists face particular challenges when forming a professional identity. This is due to the fact that they often have to maintain multiple identities across arts and non-arts working environments. In addition, artists are required to manage social stereotypes when determining a sense of identity, for example, the perception of the bohemian living and working on the fringe. Other social factors appear to have a significant influence, such as the artist-audience relationship and the effects of critical feedback on an artist’s work. In order to explore these issues, interviews were held with twelve undergraduate artists and twelve artists practising in industry in Australia (24 in total). The data reveal that the formation of an identity for artists is influenced by a number of intrinsic and extrinsic elements, the latter influenced by social factors such as public perception and feedback. The findings also reveal that higher education is an important time for artists to develop and transition towards the formation of a professional identity or identities. Further, there is evidence to suggest that this area of soft-skill development should become an integral part of the higher education curriculum and students’ learning