Art has evolved, opening up new avenues in the fields of design, animation, fashion, films and so on.
At a panel discussion on ‘Art as a Career Option in India' organised by the CII-Young Indians, Chennai Chapter, there was lively interaction on the growth of art and related fields for youth to consider as a career option.
The verdict: Films, theatre, cultural tourism and a range of options besides the conventional careers beckon students of art. Be it applying the strokes of a brush or enacting a scene on stage, interest and involvement make the field an exhilarating career to pursue.
“Today's artists should know how to enjoy the art form and at the same time present it in such a way that the audience sensually experiences it and feels the impact,” said Karthik Kumar, actor and co-founder, Evam, a Chennai-based entertainment company. “The cultural, social and commercial aspects of art is equally relevant and need to be combined for a good output,” he said.
Experts emphasized how the boundaries of the corporate and arts space merged. “The business side of arts is equally exciting. Considering arts as a business will bring in more professionalism,” said Sharan Apparao, proprietor, Apparao Art Galleries. With the rich heritage and culture India was endowed with, the experts said a career in the largely unexplored field of cultural tourism was waiting to be tapped.
“Since the attention span of the audience is decreasing, the dance forms need to be presented as spectacular showcases. The art producers or cultural producers design the frame within which the art is presented in an attractive manner,” said dancer Anita Ratnam. There existed a huge space for cultural producers. “The best of dancers are outside India than within the country due to the availability of better recognition and pay there.” Job opportunities for dancers in the field of choreographing for colleges were emerging as a surprisingly lucrative field, she said.
New options
The proliferation of media is also opening up new options. “Those with an eye for design can carve a place for themselves in production design in the film and television industry. Art has become a viable career option and requires hard work too. Web designing and video game designing are the latest in the industry,” said Uma Vangal, Assistant Professor, L.V. Prasad Film & TV Academy. Art, in every form, should be introduced as a regular discipline and encouraged in schools, she said. Understanding and maintaining a good synergy between the artist, the audience and the investor and serving it in a manner palatable to the world, is the key to attaining success in any art form, experts said.
Nuturing creativity
When creativity is nurtured at a young age, children become leaders in any field they chose. “Every subject, including maths can be taught using arts,” said A.V. Ilango an artist and a mathematician. “Cross-disciplinary innovations need to evolve. In art therapy, people with depression and multiple personality can be treated,” he said.
