Career in the arts night: Advice from six women in artistic fields

Meet Me at the Museum recently hosted a Career in the Arts panel, interviewing six successful women working in different artistic fields. 

Photo by Jeanine Huang/The Barnard Bulletin

By Luisa Nahr

March 27, 2025

As a senior, I know firsthand how daunting the post-grad job hunt can be. It can feel overwhelming, especially for those pursuing a career in the arts. Earlier this semester, Meet Me at the Museum gave students insight and inspiration on how to get started in the arts with a panel of women, featuring recent Barnard graduates, working across a range of artistic fields.

Meet Me at the Museum is a Barnard club that offers free museum tours to elementary school students, striving to make museums inclusive, accessible, and empowering. Likewise, the club understands how artistic careers are often inaccessible and exclusive. On Thursday, February 20, Meet Me at the Museum hosted its “Careers in the Arts” night, bringing together six successful women who work in the arts to make the process a little less intimidating. 

The women on the panel included: 

Sofia Perez (BC ‘21), a client account manager at Pinterest’s brand partnership team. She is responsible for building and maintaining brand relationships through creative innovations, trend insights, and digital advertising strategies. While at Barnard, Perez majored in art history with an English minor and has also interned at Cosmopolitan and The Coveteur. 

Conçetta Ciarlo, the beauty commerce writer at Vogue. She joined their team this past November after almost five years on the editorial events team, working events ranging from intimate cocktail parties to the annual Met Gala. Ciarlo joined Vogue in 2020 with degrees from Cornell University and the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Amanda LaFerriere, a New York City based portrait and live music photographer. Originally from Florida, she has known what she wanted to do since she was 15 years old. LaFerriere has worked with artists such as Del Water Gap, Dayglow, Flipturn, the Strumbellas, and Big Wild, and has acted as a merchandise manager and an assistant tour manager. 

Kyla Rys, a still life photography associate for Ralph Lauren whose work is often influenced by her Chinese heritage and American upbringing. Her photos have appeared in National Geographic, the Huffington Post, and LensCulture. 

Ottilie Lighte (BC ‘20), an imaging and visual resources production coordinator at the Museum of Modern Art. Lighte graduated with a degree in art history and has interned at places like The Whitney Museum of American Art, Gagosian, and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Gabrielle Redding, an architectural designer at Vocon and writer and interviewer at The Groovement. She has a master’s degree in design studies from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, with a concentration in risk and resilience. Redding is interested in the intersection of design and feminist practice, researching how spatial design can address and mitigate risks of sexual and gender-based violence.

Each of these women, with their diverse jobs and experiences, had unique insight and perspective regarding how to tackle a career in the arts. Some of the topics they touched on included finding their niche, their academic background, networking, and internships. 

A few of the panelists, like LaFerriere, knew what path they wanted to follow at a young age. At 15, LaFerriere was asked by her stepbrother to take pictures for his band’s concert, and from that fell in love with concert photography. Other panelists, on the other hand, had no idea what specific direction they wanted to follow. 

“I was so ambitious but totally directionless,” said Lighte, who emphasized that you’ll discover what you want as you gain new experiences. Similarly, Ciarlo added, “the past ten I have changed my trajectory so many times.” The speakers made it clear that it’s okay to not know exactly what niche you want to explore — you’ll learn as you go. 

One way to discover these interests is by using higher education to explore different areas. Some panelists directly use their academic background in the work they do. Rys, for example, went to school for photography, which allowed her to discover what type of photography she truly wanted to pursue. Redding went to school for architecture and explained that her education translates to her work every day. 

However, they also stressed that your academic background can serve as a tool, rather than dictate your future career. For instance, Perez expressed that while her art history degree does not fully impact her current job, it gave her powerful skills like “the ability to dive into problems head first.”

Beyond academics, leveraging connections is another way to move forward in an arts career. Although networking often seems like an intimidating task, the women were quick to assure the audience that it doesn’t need to be. LaFerriere emphasized that she does not think about it as networking, but simply connecting. “Get out of the elevator pitch mindset,” she said. Ciarlo echoed the sentiment, highlighting the importance of making genuine connections with people: “It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality.” Furthermore, Redding underlined that it is okay to ask people you know for help, so don’t be afraid to do so. 

There is also a lot of power in the Barnard alumnae network, explained Perez, who wished she had used the Beyond Barnard resources sooner. Both Perez and Lighte advised to make use of Barnard’s career services as soon as you can, so go make that career advising appointment, go message someone on Barnard Connect, go reach out to an alumna — it can only benefit you! 

After the fruitful discussion, the panel ended with each woman giving some advice to their younger selves and to Barnard women looking to work in the arts. 

Ciarlo stressed that it is important to just keep going. “Everyone is in a constant state of figuring out their life,” she expressed. You may be met with a lot of nos before you find a yes, so it’s crucial to persist when facing a hurdle. LaFerriere similarly said that it is okay to change your mind and figure things out as you go. 

Redding mentioned that it is also okay to take a breather sometimes, which can definitely be a hard thing for people at Barnard to hear. Similarly, Rys said to take pressure off of yourself; your career is about enjoying your life while getting the job done. Perez offered encouragement, saying, “have confidence in yourself, you know what you’re talking about.” Each panelist emphasized the importance of trusting yourself and having confidence in your abilities while also stressing that it’s okay to not know everything right away. 

The Career in the Arts night was a huge success, and it gave current students amazing insight on how to not only break into but thrive in the arts industries. Attendee Claire Brown (BC ‘25) said that panel allowed her to “truly realize the importance of adaptability and repeatedly asserting your limits.” She added, “being open to pivoting might actually bring you closer to your art and passion than in the ways previously imagined.” 

Whatever you want to pursue, set your mind to it, assert yourself, be open to change, and embrace everything you learn along the way. As Ciarlo said, “Don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do what you want to do,” which is something we all need to hear a little more.