Do You Need Art School To Be A "Real" Artist?

·38 min·2 clips

Sari argues that “insider” versus “outsider” art now depends more on art-world conversation than on degrees.

1. Not Sorry Art Podcast centers on the question “Do You Need Art School To Be a ‘Real’ Artist?” 2. Sari Shrike hosts the episode as the artist and creator behind Not Sorry Art, and her book “Modern Still Life from Fruit Bowls to Disco Balls” is mentioned at the top. 3. The episode asks what art school actually gives artists, if a degree is not required to make work or get into the art world. 4. Sari says a BFA is the undergraduate degree for studio art and an MFA is the terminal degree, with no PhD route for studio art. 5. She distinguishes the broader art world from the gallery circuit, naming blue chip galleries, smaller regional galleries, curators, and gallery owners. 6. Her main comparison is cross-country running, where a race has a start line, a finish line, and a recorded time. 7. She uses that sports example to show why art feels different from athletics, because the art world has little objectivity and a lot of insecurity. 8. Sari says even strong representational painters can still be called “lazy” or “bad” by people online, including former RISD professors. 9. She says art school gave her benefits beyond technique, especially art history classes, foundations of design, conceptual art courses, and learning to write an artist statement. 10. She ties that training to her later social-media strategy, where she used the language of her artist statement to speak to an audience when gallery access was difficult. 11. She argues that art education can improve media literacy by helping people ask who a work is for, what it responds to, and how it fits its moment. 12. She says the line between design art and fine art is getting fuzzier, just as the distinction between craft and fine art has been challenged through conversations about classism, racism, and sexism. 13. She says the biggest personal value of undergrad was permission to call herself an artist, which her painting professor framed as a direct consequence of making art. 14. She adds that the phrase “you’re an artist because you’re making art” mattered because the goalpost for “real artist” keeps moving. 15. Sari says family wealth and access shape who gets to become an artist, and she references Pew research data about family income and artistic careers. 16. She defines “community taught” as a useful label for artists whose education comes from colleges, workshops, social media, and self-directed study. 17. Sari names workshops with Zoe Frank, Felicia Forte, Hollis Dunlap, Nicholas Arubi, and Mia Bergeron as part of her continuing education. 18. She frames her teaching as representational painting with a contemporary spin on the Boston School and says the point is to give students tools, not rules. 19. Listeners interested in art education, gallery culture, and representational painting will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners wanting a short, technique-only painting lesson may be less interested in the long-form philosophy.

As heard by us

A generous defense of making art that still takes class and access seriously.

Sari Shrike opens with a plain answer before turning to the harder question of what actually shapes a creative life when art school is not the only path.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

For when you want permission and a sharper look at who gets to make art.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Not Sorry Art Podcast