Visual and performing arts

How to become a fine artist

Official title: Fine artist

Also called: Artist, Sculptor, Printmaker, Painter, Digital artist, Contemporary artist, Performance artist

Fine artists create original artwork using a variety of media and techniques.

Main tasks

Create artwork using different media and techniques
Create commissioned work for clients
Use art equipment, tools and machinery
Curate and put on exhibitions
Build models
Develop artistic concepts and themes
Write proposals
Conduct research

How to become one

You need experience to become a fine artist and a qualification may be useful. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: experience creating artwork in your chosen medium; examples of your work. Other requirements: a relevant tertiary qualification in visual arts and crafts or similar area.

See the full Tahatū profile

Ways in

Certificates and diplomas: Advanced certificates and diplomas in other visual arts and crafts. TEC links this job to study in visual arts and crafts. Qualifications: Dip in Creative Arts, Cert in Creative Arts. Usually 9 months to 1 year. Graduates of these qualifications earn a median $32,000 a year one year after study and $57,000 five years after; 31% are employed one year after (TEC, from Stats NZ IDI data).

Pay · Past change · AI and this job

Median pay: $66,000 a year, a TEC estimate before tax.
Upper: $142,000 a year
TEC shows pay for this job by the hour: median $31.73 an hour.
TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Steady (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
People employed in the group Visual Arts and Crafts Professionals: 3,054 at the 2018 Census and 3,912 at the 2023 Census (+28.1%). Past change, not a forecast.
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Who does this work

About 2,300 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
In the group Visual Arts and Crafts Professionals, 53% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
Where people in the group Visual Arts and Crafts Professionals work (2023 Census): Auckland 27.3%, Wellington 21.1%, and Canterbury 10.8%.

Questions people ask

How do I become a fine artist?

How much does a fine artist earn in New Zealand?

The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $66,000 a year, before tax.

Has the number of people working as a fine artist grown in New Zealand?

It has held steady: TEC records the number of people doing this job as steady between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.

Will AI change the work of a fine artist?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026

This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.

Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.

This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.

Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.

Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.

These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.

Updated 4 October 2026