A Fine Art Major who is interested in Chicago. (Manhattan: rent, crime)

[City.is.for.me]

Hi Im a Fine art Student who Plans to become An artist mainly a Illustrator who also, like the tittle of this thread is interested in moving from Chicago since childhood. Im currently living in Southern Illinois, Probably won't move until about 2016 after college Here are the questions I would like to have some help answering if possible.

1. Could a Artist afford to live in chicago? What im looking for is a decent neighborhood doesn't need to be completely crime free just enough where there isn't a gangland shootings 24/7 and my residence won't be broken into every week,That is affordable for artist or someone with a Fine Art Career?

2 What Kind of Art scene/ Job market is in Chicago is there many other up coming artist to interact with? and where do they like to hang out around, and Would it be possible to find Jobs in my Career path in Chicago?

3 Which is also kind of similar to the First How much yearly income is needed to live decently in the city of Chicago? I don't plan to own a car I can't stand driving, and rather not be inconvenienced with car ownership And would like some night life experience but im not into going out every free night available.

Thank you for reading my Post and I hope some people could help me out.

[chet everett]

I actually know a few folks that earned fine arts degrees at SIU, it is fairly well respected school. The key to a successful career utilizing the talents one earns with fine arts degree is finding the right opportunity -- that often means being able to network your way into a situation. Unpaid internships are still the norm for artists and that means you will need to utilize connections to help with finding a way that you can do this without going into debt for living expenses.

This is where the conversations with professors come in. Most professors are EXCELLENT at developing a network -- it is very likely that most art professors at SIU have good contacts at potential employers around Chicago as well professors in the area. If you express your desire to be part of that network AND DO IT IN WAY THAT IS APPROPRIATE you will far ahead of others that do not participate in such an opportunity.

The ideal situation would be recent grad that would be willing to let you share their space for a minimal amount ,or even have some sort of art related part time employment that you could do. Too late for this summer but start planning as school is back in session...

Don't worry about "safety" that makes you sound like a rube.

Don't worry if you can make enough to live in Chicago, the term "starving artist" is gross exaggeration. There are lots of people that are a wee bit undernourished due to their career choice

Artist hang out like everyone else. There is a a very strong network of folks that work in fields that directly utilize their fine arts degrees as well as larger and more diverse mesh of folks that still consider themselves artists despite working in fields that mostly just pay the bills and are not really traditonally creative. Even hugely talented famous artists like Ed Pasche realized lots of people would be happy to toss money at him for licensing an imagine for something like a boring old office that I worked in. I won't bore you with that and you seem not annoying enough for me to try to use reality to break your spirit so ...

BE NICE TO YOUR PROFESSORS -- THEY CAN HELP MAKES YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE!

[Larry Siegel]

Chet's post is mostly spot on, but I'll add:

If you're worried about safety, you should realize that very large areas of the city are pretty much crime-free. However, not being from Chicago, you could get talked into living in an area that isn't. Read the posts on city-data and draw your own conclusions, but almost the whole north and northwest sides are fine.

A roommate situation will probably cost you $500+ for just your share, so multiply by 3 or 4 and that's what you need to earn to get by decently in Chicago. $1500-2000 a month or $18-24K a year. That's pretty bare bones, but I know people who are doing it.

Now call those professors…

[baileyvpotter]

Originally Posted by City.is.for.me

2 What Kind of Art scene/ Job market is in Chicago is there many other up coming artist to interact with? and where do they like to hang out around, and Would it be possible to find Jobs in my Career path in Chicago?

Chet gave you some good advise. Along with developing good relationships with your professors, begin
developing a good portfolio which would include works done outside the classroom. I would also suggest
doing some freelance work for a variety of clients and/or companies (small and large).
Also, you might want to start a thread on the Fine Arts Forum. There may be some illustration
artists on there who can also give you more information.


Jobs and Salary Info for an Illustration Major

[City.is.for.me]

First of thank you for all the input

And second I guess i should of rephrase that a little The area im looking for doesn't half to be completely crime free since no place anywhere is truly crime free Im just looking at an area that could still be sketchy at times but it is affordable, ( spent a lot of time in East St louis and North St louis so im not shielded from more crime prone areas) but has a real chance to make a revival. I was looking at the uptown area. I love the Architecture there. That is type type of neighborhoods im kind of talking about as a example. Any other thoughts or suggestions?

[userfl5026]

Originally Posted by City.is.for.me

Hi Im a Fine art Student who Plans to become An artist mainly a Illustrator who also, like the tittle of this thread is interested in moving from Chicago since childhood. Im currently living in Southern Illinois, Probably won't move until about 2016 after college Here are the questions I would like to have some help answering if possible.

1. Could a Artist afford to live in chicago? What im looking for is a decent neighborhood doesn't need to be completely crime free just enough where there isn't a gangland shootings 24/7 and my residence won't be broken into every week,That is affordable for artist or someone with a Fine Art Career?

2 What Kind of Art scene/ Job market is in Chicago is there many other up coming artist to interact with? and where do they like to hang out around, and Would it be possible to find Jobs in my Career path in Chicago?

3 Which is also kind of similar to the First How much yearly income is needed to live decently in the city of Chicago? I don't plan to own a car I can't stand driving, and rather not be inconvenienced with car ownership And would like some night life experience but im not into going out every free night available.

Thank you for reading my Post and I hope some people could help me out.

Hi, I am an artist living in Chicago and yes I can afford it. I live in the Pilsen Neighborhood I don't find the crime in this area too bad.

I create fine art too and they have a great fine art storage in the area: Climate Controlled Storage in NJ, NYC, Manhattan & Chicago - Mana Fine Arts. They also do viewing galleries, fairs and exhibitions, framing and crating, so this would be a great opportunity for you to showcase your work or network yourself.

I have used Fine Arts Jobs, Employment in Chicago, IL | Indeed.com and Jobs | Chicago Artists Resource sometimes to look for jobs. There are plenty of other sites too.

As far as living costs go you could get a studio for about $600/mth or a 1 bedroom for around $900/mth, so rent would cost you anywhere between $7,200 - $10,800 a year depending on your preference plus your other expenses and essentials.

Hope this is helpful!

[rzzz]

I knew a lot of illustrators who lived in Chicago from late 1990s until about 5 years ago. They seemed to do fine. They all moved to LA though, for weather and job reasons.