Oscillate wildly: the under-acknowledged prevalence, predictors, and outcomes of multi-disciplinary arts practice

ABSTRACT

This article draws on data from a survey of U.S. arts and design graduates (N = 26,672) to analyse the prevalence, predictors, and outcomes of multi-disciplinary artistic careers. We propose that the practice of multiple artforms is a common, albeit under-acknowledged, component of nimbly navigating artistic labour markets, alongside other strategies such as multiple jobholding and self-employment. While there are undoubtedly benefits to specialization, overall, we find that generalist arts alumni are more likely to continue working in the arts well after graduation. Being a multi-disciplinary artist is significantly associated with a range of entrepreneurial career activities, such as self-employment or freelancing, teaching in the arts, or managing an arts-related organization. Working across multiple artforms is connected to feeling satisfied with one’s education and career pathways, however multi-disciplinary artists are significantly less satisfied with the levels of job security and income that their current work provides. We conclude with implications for future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Artists
• career
• cultural and creative industries
• multidisciplinary artists

Notes on contributors

Alexandre Frenette is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Associate Director of the Curb Center for Art, Enterprise, and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University. Using the music industry as his case study, Frenette is currently working on a monograph about the challenges and the promise of internships as part of higher education. His writings on artistic workers and the intern economy have won awards from the Society for the Study of Social Problems as well as the Labor and Employment Relations Association.

Nathan D. Martin is Associate Professor of Justice and Social Inquiry at Arizona State University’s School of Social Transformation, an interdisciplinary unit that brings together diverse scholars and students with a focus on transformational knowledge and community collaboration. His current research focuses on inequalities in postsecondary education, and global shifts in class mobilization and identity. His recent publications include articles appearing in American Behavioral Scientist, Research in Higher Education, PNAS, and The Sociological Quarterly.

Steven J. Tepper is Dean of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. He studies the intersections of arts, culture, and public life, focusing on social change and cultural conflict, creative work and identity, and changes in cultural participation. He is author of Not Here, Not Now, Not That! Protest Over Art and Culture in America (Chicago, 2011).

Notes

1 We dropped 517 observations with missing values by listwise deletion. We also excluded 53 alumni from 4 institutions providing < 30 observations to meet data requirements for multilevel modeling (Moineddin, Matheson, & Glazier, 2007).

2 A more detailed measure of race/ethnicity based on federal reporting guidelines shows that all non-white groups apart from American Indians/Alaska Natives (AIAN) are significantly more likely to be multi-disciplinary artists relative to white alumni. Comparisons of predictive margins also indicate similar levels of multi-disciplinary practice across non-white groups: Black/African American (77.2% [74.0%, 80.4%]), Hispanic/Latino (77.6% [74.9%, 80.3%]), Asian/Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (77.8% [75.2%, 80.3%], multiracial (78.2% [76.1%, 80.3%]), and AIAN (71.0% [63.6%, 78.4%]).

3 See supplementary materials (Appendix) on the Cultural Trends website for full model details.