Your Arts work may not fit one title.
Arts is the domain for creative, cultural, production, and performance work. Your DEX level shows the scope of responsibility you are ready to carry.
How DEX credentials work
Arts is the field. Your level is the scope.
A DEX credential has two parts. The domain names your field. The level names the scope of responsibility you have been assessed at.
The domain is the field
The domain names the area of work. Arts covers creative, cultural, production, performance, design, and arts administration work.
The level is the scope
The level describes the size of responsibility your role carries. There are four levels: Associate, Professional, Management, and Portfolio.
Together they make one specific credential
Your credential names your field and your scope in one public record.
The credential shows both. An employer can verify it by code. No login is required.
Associate Arts
The Arts domain spans
- Creative production
- Performance and live arts
- Curatorial and exhibition work
- Arts administration
- Cultural programme coordination
- Design and visual production
- Media and content creation
- Creative team leadership
- Community arts and outreach
- Music and audio production
Is this your field?
Arts may fit you if your work lives in a creative or cultural field.
If you see yourself in any of these descriptions, this domain may fit your credential.
Early-career creative contributor
You work in your first creative role. You have real skills but no formal credential to show employers.
Working artist with professional practice
You deliver creative work regularly. Your practice is professional but nothing on paper shows it.
Production coordinator
You organise shows, shoots, or productions. You manage people and delivery at a professional level.
Arts administrator
You run programmes or manage cultural organisations. Your work is professional. Your credentials are not.
Performer managing their own work
You book engagements and manage your own delivery. You operate professionally without a professional title.
Curator or programme coordinator
You plan and deliver exhibitions or programmes. You coordinate stakeholders and manage delivery.
Creative team lead
You direct a team or project. You are accountable for creative results delivered through others.
Cultural project manager
You lead arts or cultural projects. You manage people, scope, and delivery in a creative context.
Portfolio-level arts leader
You direct strategy across multiple creative programmes or institutions.
Your work does not need to fit one neat title. If it is rooted in a creative or cultural field, Arts is likely the right domain.
You may see yourself here
Some people who certify in Arts describe it this way
"I have been stage managing for two years. I deliver the work. I just have no credential that says so."
"I coordinate exhibitions and manage artists. My employer knows what I can do. No one else does."
"I moved from finance to arts administration three years ago. My skills are real but my CV still reads like the old story."
"I manage a team of designers and producers. My title says coordinator. The gap between my title and my work keeps growing."
"I run cultural programmes across three communities. I built everything myself. There is no credential that shows the scope of what I do."
"I moved to Canada from the UK two years ago. My arts management experience is real but the market here treats it as if it does not exist."
Which level fits your Arts work?
You choose the level that reflects your current role. The Arts domain applies at every level.
You work in a creative role under direction. You deliver reliably on productions, programmes, or projects.
You own your creative work. You make decisions and deliver results without close supervision.
You lead creative teams. You are accountable for outcomes delivered through others in an Arts context.
You direct strategy across multiple creative programmes or markets. You own results at an enterprise level.
Credential examples
The same domain. Four levels of scope.
These examples show how an Arts credential reads at each level. The domain stays the same. The scope changes.
Associate
You work under direction in a creative role. This is the entry level.
- Associate Arts
Professional
You own your creative practice. Four bands describe different scopes within this level.
- Specialist Arts
- Practitioner Arts
- Lead Expert Arts
- Strategist Arts
Management
You lead creative teams. Four bands describe different management scopes.
- Team Leader Arts
- Group Manager Arts
- Area Director Arts
- Division Head Arts
Portfolio
You direct strategy at an enterprise level. Four bands describe different operating scopes.
- Regional Arts
- National Arts
- Borders Arts
- Global Arts
The band name comes first. Then the domain. This is the format shown in the public registry.
Questions about the Arts domain
Common questions from people in creative and cultural fields.
No. Arts applies across creative, cultural, production, performance, design, and media work. Arts administrators, curators, and production coordinators all fall within this domain.
Yes. Arts administration, grant management, and cultural programme work all fall within the Arts domain. The domain names the field, not the specific job function.
Yes. Your credential belongs to you. If your career moves into a different field, you can certify in a different domain when it becomes relevant.
Readiness means you can perform at the scope you were assessed at. It is assessed by an outside body. It is not about mastery of a craft.
A portfolio shows your work. A DEX credential shows your assessed readiness at a defined scope. Employers can verify the credential by code. A portfolio and a credential serve different purposes.
DEX assesses readiness. It does not teach skills. A study guide is available to help you prepare. The credential comes from passing the assessment.
The registry shows the credential band, domain, and status. An employer enters the credential code to confirm it. No login is required.
Your Arts practice is professional. Now there is a credential that says so.
One assessment. One public record. Checkable by any employer.
The assessment is done online. The credential is listed in the public registry. The result belongs to you.
No login required to verify. Credential code only.