Street performer to performance artist
A street performer already meets 52% of what the performance artist role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
56/ 100
1 How much of what a performance artist is expected to do is already part of a street performer’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the performance artist role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A performance artist role treats 12 of its required skills as things a street performer already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- analyse own performance
- art history
- attend rehearsals
- follow time cues
- gather reference materials for artwork
- interact with an audience
What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 20 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A performance artist role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a street performer background worth leading with.
- already held self-promote communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held ensure health and safety of visitors assisting and caring
- already held perform dances communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform live communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held interact with fellow actors communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held analyse own performance management skills
All 20 carried skills, including the 12 the performance artist role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 missing skills fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn adjust the performance to different environments required
- still to learn adapt artistic plan to location required
- still to learn define artistic approach required
- still to learn define artistic vision required
- still to learn discuss artwork required
- optional, not held create an artistic performance optional
- optional, not held participate in music studio recordings optional
- optional, not held perform costume changeovers optional
- optional, not held present exhibition optional
- optional, not held create digital images optional
- still to learn contextualise artistic work required
- still to learn monitor art scene developments required
- still to learn monitor sociological trends required
- optional, not held assess conservation needs optional
- optional, not held develop artistic project budgets optional
- still to learn intellectual property law required
- still to learn labour legislation required
- optional, not held manage artistic project optional
- optional, not held plan art educational activities optional
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
- optional, not held ensure safety of exercise environment optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a performance artist role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 adjust the performance to different environments practise this
- 02 adapt artistic plan to location practise this
- 03 contextualise artistic work practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 20 skills that carry over
- already held analyse own performance skill
- already held art history knowledge
- already held attend rehearsals skill
- already held follow time cues skill
- already held gather reference materials for artwork skill
- already held interact with an audience skill
- already held keep up with trends skill
- already held manage feedback skill
- already held perform live skill
- already held self-promote skill
- already held study roles from scripts skill
- already held work with an artistic team skill
- already held develop artistic educational activities skill
- already held develop educational resources skill
- already held ensure health and safety of visitors skill
- already held interact with fellow actors skill
- already held keep personal administration skill
- already held participate in artistic mediation activities skill
- already held perform dances skill
- already held sing skill
11 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held assess conservation needs optional
- optional, not held create an artistic performance optional
- optional, not held develop artistic project budgets optional
- optional, not held ensure safety of exercise environment optional
- optional, not held manage artistic project optional
- optional, not held participate in music studio recordings optional
- optional, not held perform costume changeovers optional
- optional, not held plan art educational activities optional
- optional, not held present exhibition optional
- optional, not held create digital images optional
- optional, not held plan health and safety procedures optional
19 held skills the performance artist role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role act for an audience skill
- not needed by the target role enable audience participation skill
- not needed by the target role engage the audience emotionally skill
- not needed by the target role follow directions of the artistic director skill
- not needed by the target role handle petty cash skill
- not needed by the target role maintain an artistic portfolio skill
- not needed by the target role manipulate object to create illusions skill
- not needed by the target role perform for young audiences skill
- not needed by the target role perform in a public space skill
- not needed by the target role play musical instruments skill
- not needed by the target role practice humour skill
- not needed by the target role select music for performance skill
- not needed by the target role show professional responsibility skill
- not needed by the target role street art history knowledge
- not needed by the target role tell a story skill
- not needed by the target role use declaiming techniques skill
- not needed by the target role use public space as a creative resource skill
- not needed by the target role work independently as an artist skill
- not needed by the target role work with respect for own safety skill
2 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn intellectual property law required
- still to learn labour legislation required
Other moves recorded from street performer
Common questions about this move
Can a street performer become a performance artist?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A street performer already covers 52% of what a performance artist is expected to do: 20 skills carry over, 12 of which the performance artist role treats as required.
What skills does a street performer need to become a performance artist?
10 required skills are missing, plus 11 optional ones. They fall into 5 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is adjust the performance to different environments.
How hard is the move from street performer to performance artist?
Its learning distance is 56 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.