NOC 53122: Painters, sculptors and other visual artists

Painters, sculptors and other visual artists create original paintings, drawings, sculptures, engravings and other artistic works. They are usually self-employed. This unit group also includes art instructors and teachers, who are usually employed by art schools.

Express Entry eligibility

• Skilled work (TEER 0 to 3): yes, TEER 3.
• Canadian Experience Class: counts as skilled Canadian work (1 year in the last 3 years).
• Federal Skilled Worker Program: counts as skilled work (1 year of continuous work in the last 10 years).
• Federal Skilled Trades Program: not one of the eligible trades.
• High-wage occupation (from November 3, 2026): no. No high-wage add-on, and a job offer in it earns no CRS points.

TEER 3: Occupations that usually need a college diploma, an apprenticeship of less than 2 years, or more than 6 months of on-the-job training. Every program has other requirements too, such as language test results and, for FSW, a points test.

Category-based draws

NOC 53122 is not on any of IRCC’s occupation category lists. You can still be invited in general, Canadian Experience Class or other program draws.

Category lists checked on canada.ca on 2026-10-17. IRCC category-based selection

CRS points for work in NOC 53122

Skilled Canadian work in this occupation earns the standard points, the same before and after November 3, 2026, with no high-wage add-on:

See Canadian work points and the median-wage rule.

Main duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

• Painters
• Create drawings, paintings and other artwork using oils, pastels, watercolours, charcoal, ink and other media.
• Sculptors
• Create sculptures, statues and other three-dimensional artwork by shaping, carving and working with materials such as clay, ice, paper, stone, wood or metal.
• Art instructors and teachers
• Teach students the techniques and methods of drawing, painting, sculpting and other forms of artistic expression.

For Express Entry your duties must match the lead statement and most of the main duties above.

Example job titles

• art teacher (except primary, secondary and post-secondary education)
• artist
• artistic painter
• portrait painter
• sculptor
• silkscreen artist
• watercolourist

Employment requirements

• Creative ability and talent, as demonstrated by a portfolio of work, and knowledge of the safe use of materials, tools and equipment are required. Art programs are offered at universities, colleges and private art schools.
• A college diploma in fine arts techniques may be required.
• Art instructors and teachers may be required to have a university degree or college diploma in a field related to art.

Similar jobs with a different code

• 41221Art teacher - elementary school
• 41220Art teacher - secondary school
• 53124Artisans and craftspersons
• 41200Fine arts professor - university
• 41210Fine arts teacher - college level
• 52120Graphic designers and illustrators