key
Explanation
This single-panel comic shows a door with an elaborate set of instructions for entry: "This is a steel door. The door can only be opened by picking it, a combination, or keywords that please a computer. The keywords can be found only by trial and error, and they will change every week according to the whims of some guy from the business school. On the other side are art supplies and if you can get through, they will all have to look at your drawings or film or photography or whatever."
Below, the caption reads: "We began to regret requesting a more career-oriented arts program."
The humor is that making an arts program "career-oriented" has transformed it into something resembling a tech startup's security system or a business school obstacle course. Instead of simply providing students with art supplies and instruction, the school has added layers of gatekeeping that mimic the real-world barriers artists face in commercial careers -- arbitrary requirements, constantly changing standards set by business people, and the need to constantly pitch your work. The comic satirizes how "career-oriented" education in the arts often means adding business-world obstacles rather than actually helping artists develop their craft.