Half of Australian mid career artists considering career change

7 December 2022

A recent survey of the Australian arts sector (PDF) reveals that slightly over half of mid-career artists are either considering leaving the arts, or are already retraining, so they can take up work in another sector all together.

Low rates of remuneration appear to be prompting a number of veteran independent artists and creatives to look elsewhere for opportunities:

In the words of one anonymous respondent: “I am retraining into the medical administration sector and will not be working in the arts anymore. That is a career of nearly 40 years gone due to the inability to survive financially.”