Is professionalism a dirty word in the arts? (from the archives)

Has too much talk of brand and career management muddied the path of professional practice as an artist? Artistic growth isn't a straight career path.

For easily two decades now we have been nurturing artists into a glossy future of professional practice. An artist’s toolkit today should not only include gesso and a good screw gun but also include a website, social media presence, a business card, and solid writing skills to be able to communicate their work and extend its visibility.

Simply you are expected to be publicist, marketer, entrepreneur – oh, and make things.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina