From money advice to must knows: career lessons from 2025

Career lessons, tips and advice to ensure 2026 is smooth sailing in your arts job and creative practice.
A young man wearing a beanie sitting at his desk with a laptop and drawing on a small surface. Opportunities for creatives.

Haven’t got time to do a booster course, or go hunting for those notes taken at the last course you did? And yet you need a refresher to ensure 2026 is smooth sailing?

ArtsHub aims to make your professional life much simpler with this one-stop career toolkit for a quick grab of expert advice, tips and hacks to make your job easier in 2026.

Must know career lessons

This year ArtsHub took a deep dive into the less glamorous, but critical topics that shape a healthy studio practice (literally), artist obligations when it comes to super (right, who get paid super?), and a quickly changing landscape with safe-guarding your IP.

Money advice to become more resilient

a young man holder a jar with various Australian bank notes and coins
Securing meaningful arts-money deals means more than passing the jar around. Image: Melissa Walker Horn via unsplash.

A topic always at the top of the list for artists is how to maximise financial opportunities and management. ArtsHub took a look at gigs on the side, the hopeful goals of tax reform, and a refresher on pricing your own time.

ReadA one-stop career toolkit for 2025

Career lessons: advice for going it alone

Whether you’re looking to freelance, expand your portfolio career, or just looking at alternative pathways for education and advancement, ArtsHub offered insights from those going it alone.

ReadArt market lessons learned in 2024

Other career lessons to catapult you forward in 2026

The rise up the ladder takes many forms these days, but advice from those who have done it well is always welcome.

10 things I learned from selling eight million books

Discover more arts, games and screen reviews on ArtsHub and ScreenHub.

Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's Senior Contributor, after 12 years in the role as National Visual Arts Editor. She has worked for extended periods in America and Southeast Asia, as gallerist, arts administrator and regional contributing editor for a number of magazines, including Hong Kong based Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. She is an Art Tour leader for the AGNSW Members, and lectures regularly on the state of the arts. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Instagram: fairleygina