Eph artists can be…dancers, graphic designers, stand-up comics, art therapists, set designers, music composers, curators, sculptors, fashion designers, architects, poets, authors, cartoonists, art educators, visual designers, film production assistants, animators. Interested in how a museum or gallery operates, raises funds, advocates, and markets its artists and programs? Arts Management may be your fit. Curious about the intersection of art, sound, and science? A career in Sound Art or film audio production may be your path.
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To be a creative artist — on stage, in front of a camera, in print, or on canvas, you must have great passion. Finding mentors who can encourage, coach, and promote is essential when beginning these most competitive career paths.
AMAZING Resource Guide - Jobs and Internships in Museums & Arts
Other Resources
- Creativejobscentral - Adds over 10,000 internships and entry-level creative jobs weekly (fee-based)
- Art-Collecting.com – Lists over 4200 fine art galleries located in the United States by state.
Berkshire County Museums
- Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA)
- Clark Art Institute
- MASS MoCA
- Norman Rockwell Museum
- Hancock Shaker Village
- Berkshire Museum
Photography and Creative Writing Resources
- Photography at Williams
- Communication Arts Center - Creative; interactive; career resources (including job listings nationwide); competitions; community forums; design issue columns
- Poets & Writers – Job listings and other opportunities for poets and writers, as well as an online meeting place and community center for writers
- Careers in Photojournalism
- Society for Photographic Education – Artist’s websites, job listings, newsletter, and conference information
- Poewar.com is a site about writing and the writing business that features articles, freelance jobs, and writing employment
- Writers Guild of America
- “Writer’s Write” – Screenwriting – Look here for links to producers, industry information, movies
Graduate Schools and Internships
- Clark Art Institute - Graduate Program
- The School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston
- Multicultural Undergraduate Summer Internships at the Getty Center The Getty offers summer internships in a variety of programs and administrative departments of the Getty Trust to undergraduates of culturally diverse backgrounds
- Association for Research into Crimes against Art (ARCA) An interdisciplinary think tank/research group on contemporary issues in art crime
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Position Overview
Architecture is a combination of technology and art. Architects plan and design buildings, other structures, and the spaces around them. In addition, many technicians are involved in the design processes and in the construction projects that eventually implement the designs. Broad topics in architecture include construction, engineering, interior design, landscape, architecture, and urban planning. Interested? Read about how Maurice Blanks and John Christakos ’87 used their Williams education to become design entrepreneurs. To learn more about the industry, check out this blog post and read these latest trends.
Academic Guidance
Williams offers several architecture courses in the Art History and Art Studio departments. Students who are interested in learning about the theory of architecture should enroll in ARTH 244/262/264/405/519 and speak to Professor Michael J. Lewis. For those more interested in design, enroll in ARTS 215/220/329 or speak to Professor Ben Benedict.
Other Resources
Here are some internship opportunities:
- The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS)offers industry news, the latest resources, and a list of summer internship programs
- Architect Jobs has a wide listing of internships and jobs
- Kurani designs spaces for progressive educational programs. Check out their internship programs
Here are some graduate school programs:
- Harvard University Graduate School of Design
- The New School, Parsons MA in Architecture
- MIT Architecture Programs
- University of Michigan MA in Architecture
Here are some book and other recommendations:
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- Envisioning Information, by Edward R. Tufte
- Designing Your Life, by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
- Williams College: The Campus Guide, by Eugene J. Johnson and Michael J. Lewis
- Planetizen
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Three common terms describe designers - graphic designers, visual designers, and user interface designers. Want to combine your media arts and technology interests? Interested in designing a website or turn research into a powerful marketing tool via infographics?
Resources
- Communication Arts – Source of inspiration for graphic designers, art directors, design firms, corporate design departments, advertising agencies, interactive designers, illustrators, and photographers—everyone involved in visual communication. CA also has a strong Creative Jobs section that allows you to search for jobs by state and zip code.
- Creative Displays Now! – A number of useful links produced by cardboard display merchandisers.
- Creativity - A monthly magazine published by Ad Age that covers all things creative in advertising and design.
- Gamejobs.com –Jobs in the video and computer game industry
- Gamasutra – Lists gaming companies and sorts them by producers, distributors, those looking for visual artists
- Society for News Design – Events, competitions, resources, jobs
- Wix.com - Portfolio/Free work sample website
- Wired
UX/UI Design
- UX Collective Curated stories on user experience, usability, and product design
- UX Planet One-stop resource for everything related to user experience
- Fast Company CO.DESIGN (where business and design collide)
Video Games
You can venture into the video game industry in non-tech roles:
Game Artist: Create concept art, storyboards, and designs for packaging and marketing materials
Game Designer: Originate ideas for games and oversee the creative process
Translator: Localise scripts, in-game text and documentation for sale in international markets
Writer: Write scripts, in-game text and instruction manuals
The Best Video Game Design Schools in the World
How to Get a Job in Video Game Design
Books/TEDx
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Fashion includes wearable technology, accessories design, fashion design, textile arts, & furniture and much more.
Resources
- Business of Fashion
- The Impression (Where Fashion Gets Creative)
- College Art Association
- Costume Society of America
- Women's Wear Daily
- Fashion Net – How to get a job in fashion and job listings.
- StyleCareers – Largest, fashion-only job listing site on the Internet
- Trendstop is a pioneering creative agency combining a global online trend research platform with an innovative design studio and consultancy service
- TextileArtists.Org
- Textile Arts Center NYC
Graduate Schools
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Take a spin on the Art & Social Impact Explorer to see how you can make a difference! (Click on your area of interest > an info blurb "learn more" appears > click again and see "fact sheet" in top right corner > click for an amazing infographic!)
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Resources
- National Preservation Institute – “The National Preservation Institute (NPI) is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization offering specialized information, continuing education, and professional training for the management, development, and preservation of historic, cultural, and environmental resources.”
- Preservation Employment Opportunities
- International Preservation Studies Center
- Williamstown Art Conservation Center
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Those who want to pursue careers as creative artists — on stage, in front of a camera, in print, or on canvas — are those that must have the greatest passion of all. Finding mentors who can encourage, coach, and promote is essential when beginning this most competitive of career paths.
Acting/Film/Theater Resources
- Actors Equity Association – News and events, questions about agencies, auditions, bonding, contracts, etc.), and an extensive casting call search engine.
- Backstage – Casting & Jobs, Multimedia Resumes, Advice, Listings, News & Features, Reviews, and Yellow Pages.
- EntertainmentCareer.net – Entertainment jobs, internships and career information in the entertainment industry.
- Mandy – Largest creative community of actors, film and TV crew, theatre professionals, child actors, voiceover artists, dancers, singers, musicians, models, and extras. We empower professionals to find work in TV studios, on movie sets, in training institutions, events, concert halls, theatre companies, and art collectives.
On-Campus Resources
- Williams Theatre Department
- ‘62 Center for Theatre and Dance
- Williamstown Theatre Festival job listings
Dance
- American Dance Therapy Association – Education, research, publications, related links
- National Dance Council of America – Directories, events, news & press releases, informational brochures, and a newsletter
On-Campus Resources
Music
- Chamber Music America – Offers a range of grants and services for jazz (and other non-classical) musicians
- College Music Society
- FilmFreeway.com
- Hitsdailydouble.com
- MusicBusinessWorldwide.com
- National Association for Music Therapy
On-Campus Resources
Film/TV
- Television Academy Foundation Internships
- EntertainmentCareer.net – Entertainment jobs, internships and career information in the entertainment industry
- FilmFreeway.com
- Hollywood Reporter
- The Gotham
- Indiewire – Provides industry news, articles, interviews, information on festivals, competitions and grants, and job listings for writers, actors, and techies
- Staff Me Up.com Production Jobs in Film, TV, Digital, Media and Entertainment
- Showbizjobs.com
- Writers Guild
Internships
- Museum of the Moving Image offers paid summer internships.
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A portfolio is a compilation of materials (photographs, designs, creative work) that exemplifies your skills and training. In the creative industry, a portfolio provides insight into your personality and work ethic. It can also help you in the process of synthesizing your own work and making connections between your experiences that you may not have noticed before!
What to showcase:
- Feature only your best work.
- Focus on quality over quantity.
- Cover the complete spectrum of work, including personal projects, volunteer projects and work for hire.
- Are organized in a way that will make sense to viewers.
- Show only complete work, omitting in-progress or partially-completed work.
Examples:
Apparel & Graphics
Fine Arts
Printmaking
Designer
Writer
Dancer
If you need more inspiration, check out these free websites
Examples of Web Content:
- Darren Booth, Illustration - http://darrenbooth.com/
- Laura Berger, Graphic Artist & Ceramicist - https://www.lauraberger.com/
- Amelia Brown, Fashion Designer - http://www.ameliabrown.com/
Thanks to my colleagues, Brooke Vertin, from Bowdoin and Mario Roman from Vassar for sharing their original work and expertise in creating these resources.
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Creative Interviews
While the interviewer starts to ask "How did you decide to go into this field?" start pulling out your tablet with a pdf version of your website. Always have an off-line version because you can't assume they will provide access to the internet. If you have your portfolio in hard copy, most creatives will start turning the pages. They want to see your work and want to see if you can develop a conversation. Dialogue in creative industries is essential since you are involved in critiques every day! So get ready to engage.