i think to find your answer for this some perspectives could be considered… i have a creative arts degree (music) and at no point have i regretted it, but maybe another in my position might. i haven’t made very much money from it yet, but my perspective has for a long time been, that its more important for me to do something creative/enjoyable than have misery but money. i’m not looking for a society thats core is selfish madness to fulfil me, but if it does for a moment in time decide that my work is of value then i will be grateful, but also if it doesn’t happen thats fine too, i’ll still continue to enjoy creativity and the freedoms my soul experiences from this
the difficulty is with arts and money is that you need to tightrope walk a balance between true expression, which is something that doesn’t exist in the structures of profit making, and making a commodity. then comes the question; is it even possible to make something that is true expression thats also designed to be a commodity? if it isn’t, then if you make something with the purposes of making money, is that really art?
so another perspective of this is, is this a pursuit one should take if the goal is making money?… or at the same time worth doing if the pursuit is acceptance by society?…
but maybe you may like to do something where you mix in a bit… there is an element of creativity but there is a business element too, such as graphic design. thats great (i’d say). it still has some creativity but also has some grounding in society. it is a trade off, but maybe one that fits your requirements… but if that is the preferred direction it may be better to begin on a graphic design course rather than a fine art course. also there are other options, but it would take a while to go through them all, just the trade off’s with each are for you to consider.
if you are going to study art for pure creativity; your soul on a canvas etc then i would suggest that you consider if you are ‘ok’ with all outcomes. it may take a long time before you get any recognition from society. you may put vast energy into organising exhibitions and doing your works, but never really make any significant inroads… thats not to say that if you work hard at it you won’t become an amazing artist, completely the opposite actually: if you have a passion for your craft and you work hard at it and let your soul come through, you will become a great artist, there is no doubt about that, but it doesn’t mean that your work will become an acceptable commodity for today, and maybe thats a good thing, but in this circumstance you won’t receive external recognition, that can be quite fickle in its decisions if what is and isn’t worthy. it is quite a regression of thought to hope a selection of people grounded in the search of commodity will recognise your work and view it through an unconditioned, unbiased lens, because that will never happen. you may get lucky and they will decide actually your true expression is just the commodity they were looking for today… and you may find you get recognition from other artists that won’t pay your bills
also another perspective, when you look at the richest artists, such as damian hurst… is his soul or his business model being expressed?
maybe all this is going off on a tangent you may be less interested in but for me they are things that for anyone trying to compromise creativity and business should consider.
in terms of uni, this for me quite an opening experience and one i’d definitely recommend for you. having the influence of teachers that have experience of your chosen path and sharing time with students that have similar passions to you is really fun, and you develop so fast and your mind develops and forms a new mould. you are constantly challenged and getting through those challenges with short term goals develops in a way that is difficult to achieve on your own.
if you are going to go, look to make your application as strong as you can (relative to you of course), so that you can have the best university experience
hope that helps x
