Beyond the Box: Learning to Thrive in the Creative Economy with Emma Oliver

By Aislinn Green ’28

We’ve all heard the term “starving artist.” Maybe in warning tones and hushed whispers, that art isn’t something you can make money off of. Not unless you’re really lucky. Not unless you go into graphic design or sell your soul to a ten-year apprenticeship. But the truth is, society always needs artists—even if the odds can feel stacked against us. Fortunately, at Montserrat, we have Emma Oliver in our corner. 

Speaking with faculty member and Student Employment Coordinator Emma Oliver feels like forcing the abstract idea of an artistic career into conceivable steps and checkpoints. Emma has big plans for Montserrat’s student employment scene, some set to be in place as soon as Fall 2026. For your school days and your post-graduate grind, Emma Oliver is here to help you beat the starving artist allegations. 

“How do you see the on-campus jobs at Montserrat helping students develop their professional skills for the creative economy after they graduate?” I asked her. 

“There are a lot of different aspects of student employment that are really influential after one leaves college. There’s really great data, both the data that we have taken internally.. but also a lot of academic papers pointing to students who have on-campus employment for at least two years in their field..  it’s 10% more likely after you graduate to land a job faster than your peers. It’s equivalent to graduating in the top 25% of your class.” 

The benefits of having an on-campus job are clear. Especially to me, who works on campus. But how do we make it so everyone can experience the benefits of campus affiliated employment? Is it even possible? 

Emma says it is. Well, actually, she says, “One thing that is shifting for next year, the folks that are incoming for fall of 2026 will be required to work on campus, and they’ll be required to work for five hours a week all four years they’re here, which guarantees them a lot of things. It guarantees them that exciting possible boost in GPA, which we love. It guarantees them a closer connection to the creative economy. So they’re going to be employed in art jobs while they’re on campus.. All of that is hopefully going to prepare students for better career readiness, and when they leave college, they’ll have at least two years of job experience that are within the creative economy. It’s really hard to break into the creative economy if you don’t already have that experience. So by giving it to students, by requiring it of them, they will 100% make that happen. And they get a paycheck! Which we love..” 

Progressing forward into the creative economy has never seemed easier. Employers want people with experience in creative careers, and Emma Oliver is just handing this experience out (with appropriate hiring and training)! With employment being such a cause for concern for students as graduation approaches, this measure will ensure another layer of stability for future working artists who attend Montserrat. That means less stress and more creative exploration in the most formative years of one’s life!

A lot of people go into college expecting a lot of things about themselves and their future that are typically proven entirely untrue. College, for many, is a period of metamorphosis. It’s a free trial (actually really expensive) to the “real world.” It’s almost relieving to hear from an artist who went through this exact tumultuous experience and lived to tell the tale. 

Emma began her artistic voyage as a ceramicist. “I went to Alfred University, which is in upstate New York…. All they do out there is make incredible ceramic work. They’re the best ceramic program in the country. So of course, I decided I was going to go there, which is great, until you realize, wow, if you’re at the best ceramics program in the country, all of the best ceramicists are there. And not only are they your professors, but they’re also your peers. And I had this realization… where I was like, Wow, I’m just not as good as I thought I was..”  

“But then I recognized maybe this isn’t the be all, end all for me,” Emma comments. “Maybe there are other aspects of art and making that I actually find more enjoyable than producing the best and biggest ceramic piece.”

Emma once described her life as radically decadent and interdisciplinary. This description was not born from a lifelong devotion to one craft, but a free and vibrant exploration of concept and material. There is a lot of pressure on young adults entering the professional world, in and outside of the creative economy, to pick one career to be their thing. It seems natural, to most, to pick one skill and then master it. “People put things in boxes. It’s just what we do. We love to categorize. But life and art making and art practice is more interdisciplinary than that, and having skills in a broad range just makes you a better candidate for a lot of Creative Employment once you leave school,” Emma states. 

As difficult as it can be for artists to simultaneously create and self-sustain, there is no shortage of artists here at Montserrat who have managed to do just that. We are surrounded by living proof that there is still hope for us young artists yet. Emma Oliver is an artist and human to look upon and be inspired by, and yet she is also a guiding hand working with Montserrat’s student body to ensure career readiness for the next generation of artists, or at least our little section of it. If you’re interested in hearing more about her craft, her lore, and her goals for Montserrat, check out the full interview! 

Video by Kiana Rodriguez ’27