Abstract

This article examines the degree to which Canadian visual artists reference one of two polarized narratives of the arts when they talk about the role and contribution of the arts and themselves as artists: a cultural-aesthetic story or an economic story. Using life course interviews and thematic network analysis, we found that visual artists have a deep attachment to their own artistic process and the resulting personal art-making, favoring the cultural-aesthetic story over the economic story. Work in the commercial or creative industries, while sometimes personally and financially rewarding, is seen as a means to an end—the opportunity to return to the freedom of personal art-making.