The Art Life - An Ethnically Challenged Career

When people say it’s important to be creative, why is it frowned upon when being creative happens to be your career by choice? What bias exists between the concept of well-paying, so called “respectable careers” and that of being an artist.

Nations like America is certainly opening up to the fact that art is thriving industry. Knowing that the creative field cannot function with artificial intelligence is one of the reasons why Art will always exist and jobs as artists will never fade.

India, on the other hand, is still somewhere in the bottom. Every year, individuals choose or are made to choose engineering or medical courses. Science and/or technology related degrees ensure a steady career is a notion many parents seems to possess. Pursuing Art generally leans towards the idea that one is not smart enough. “If you're a female and choose to study art, people think you want the easy way out and get married after”, says Rochelle Stephens, an Advertising major at the Academy of Art University.

The number of students opting Art has recently found to be rising. Yet, this is the case with students who move to other countries to do so. The Indian Subcontinent is still not adept to a thriving creative field. “I have noone to learn from. There is no way for me to find resources to get help”, laments Ajay Reddy, a student of Animation at AAU, as well.

Art is still not placed equally amongst other career fields. Today, Indian parents encourage arts as a way of rebellion; the previous generation were ones to be forced into pursuing a career in anything other than the arts. Having their wards study what they choose is a way of learning from their mistakes. Although, making a career out of it is still a concept that invites fear.

Even students are afraid. Having to face an industry where getting a well paid job is a challenge. Yet, the one thing that every student is quoted to say is that they enjoy what they do. At the end of the day, their work will never be monotonous. It's the benefit of Art. It always changes and similarly, will open more and more paths for aspiring students, Indians

and more.