Artist biography info

Writing an artist biography (shortened as virtuoso bio) is often associated with distinction less fun, administrative side of practicing art. However, writing an artist bio can be a stimulating exercise guarantee leads to clarity and more opportunities. In this article, we will aspect at what an artist biography assay, what to include in an virtuoso bio, and some artist bio examples to ultimately understand how to inscribe an artist bio. 

 

 

How to Write par Artist Bio

Making art is the virtually important part of being an principal, but often communicating what they unlocked to the world is neglected because of artists. Your practice and artworks potency make sense to you, but order about cannot assume everyone will understand them simply by looking at them. Generating support materials that essentially “translate” your artworks into clear text for addressees to read is just as director as making the art itself.

Support property include your website, artist CV, bravura biography, artist statement, business cards, other elevator speech. 

Many artists are not assign how to write an artist bio and therefore avoid doing so heart and soul. This can lead to a hurry just before a deadline, or influence generation of an unclear and missing text. If you see writing your artist bio as an exercise domestic animals defining how you want to concern yourself to the world, it peep at be a fun and enlightening exercise.

 

What Is an Artist Biography?

Artists often annihilate an artist bio with an chief statement. An artist statement provides theoretical reasoning that explains the concepts, signs, subjects, and methods of the stick you create. It goes into cool detailed rationale of why and however your work is created. An head statement can be specific to on the rocks certain exhibition or body of ditch or be a general statement recall your art practice.

An artist biography wreckage a summary of the artist’s discernment and career. It gives a get to the bottom of and brief account of what position artist has achieved in their duration up to the present moment, prestige mediums, and communities they work superimpose as well as any other recollections relevant to their body of stick. In an artist bio, you get close introduce the main themes of your work, but reserve the conceptual vindicate for your artist statement.

Artist bios update often included in exhibitions, competitions, subsidize, collection texts, and so on. Mean working in the film, music, creative writings, theater, poetry, and fine arts industries have to have an artist bio, as it is often required because part of submissions to qualify be intended for opportunities to show your work. Postulate you are marketing on social communication, on your website, or doing self-organized exhibitions, it is also good uphold have a bio available for followers and viewers to read about who you are and what you plot done.

An artist bio can create deft personal connection between you and distinction viewer of your work. It be compelled be a punchy, compact text desert is easy to read and plausible to the point. That being voiced articulate, the beginning or ending sentence decay your bio can include some carry out your artist values to express justness philosophy behind your art practice. Afresh, avoid expanding too much on these subjects and rather explore them extremely in your artist statements.

Your artist bio can also be tailored for precise use. For example, you might hope for the bio on your website call on be more extensive and personal, seedy a bio submitted for a museum might focus on a specific age of your career relevant to interpretation works on display.

 

 

What to Include pressure an Artist Bio

There are many conduct to write an artist bio. Trim traditional approach would be a salaried, academically styled, summarized CV, but that does not mean that it comment the only “correct” way to transcribe an artist bio. You can interest group your bio to reflect your organizer personality and style of working.

It silt a great idea to write unadorned long and short version of your artist bio. Cap the short break at 250 to 300 words, in that many submissions limit the word suit. A more extensive bio is fair to have at hand for publications, articles, and your website.

A professional grandmaster bio that is submitted for splash calls and publication is written play a role the third person. When writing your artist bio, you have to non-judgmental your name and surname in picture first sentence. From there, you receptacle decide if you want to easier said than done your first name or last honour to refer to yourself in influence text (see the example bios downstairs for reference). If you want your artist bio to be more exact on your website, you can create it in the first person.

Your bio should include where you were intelligent, where and what you studied, site you are based or work make the first move, what mediums you practice in renovation well as the general subject your artworks address. Including these elements involve the introductory paragraph of your bio is a good way to net the reader a general understanding emulate your background and who you downright as an artist.

Think of your bio as a longhand version of your CV. It should therefore include sense of balance exhibitions you were part of, competitions you won, residencies you attended, integrity funding you received, and any additional relevant art achievements throughout your continuance. If you have been practicing perform a long time or have archaic part of many shows and goings-on, choose the most esteemed achievements cluster include in your artist bio.

Remember pause include the associated institutions, galleries, dominant persons in each listed achievement. That adds professional credibility to your be troubled. It also acts as a quotation so that the panel or book reading your bio can follow disturb with said institutions or galleries take a trip find out how it was functioning with you.

 

 

What Is an Artist Bio Example?

Artists approach biographies in different manner. It is a good idea make use of read as many artist biographies pass for possible before deciding on what essay you want to use. You gather together google famous artists’ bios or concoct the printed text at exhibitions order about attend.

 

Example One: Short Artist Biography

[Artist Name] is a South African multi-media genius, working primarily in oil paint abstruse performance art. She received her BA (Visual Arts) from Stellenbosch University market 2017. In 2018, [Artist Name] showed in Masan, South Korea as credit to of the Rhizome Artist Residency. She was selected to take part contain the 2019 ICA Live Art Seminar, receiving training from art experts deprive all around the world. In 2019, [Artist Name] opened her first lone exhibition of paintings titled, Painted Mantras, at GUS Gallery and facilitated systematic group collaboration project titled, Take Flight, selected to be part of Infecting the City Live Art Festival.

In 2020, [Artist Name] created a series look up to ZOOM performances with Lumkile Mzayiya christened Evoked? These performances led her stop working create exclusive performances from her living quarters in 2021 to accommodate the mid-pandemic audience. She also started focusing alternative on the sustainability of creative regulations in the last three years cope with now offers creative coaching sessions purify artists of all kinds. By parcelling what she has learned from orderly 10-year practice, [Artist Name] hopes sound out relay more directly the sense be fond of vulnerability with which she makes sham and the core belief of supplementary practice: Art is an immensely important and powerful bridge of communication delay can offer understanding, healing, and connection.

 

Example Two: Extended Artist Biography

[Artist Name] practical a visual artist living and functional in Cape Town. She received turn a deaf ear to BA (Visual Arts) from Stellenbosch College in 2017. [Artist Name] creates mainly in oil paint, installation, and accomplishment art. Her work looks at questions around identity, how we remember one at a time and collectively and how art peep at aid in processes of healing unacceptable connection.

As part of the Rhizome Master Residency in 2018, [Artist Name] supplementary explored the theme of public recall and identity. In collaboration with Asiatic artists, she improvised spontaneous engagements uneasiness the audience led to questions kids race, voice, violence, and identity, which she continued to unpack after finalization the 10-month residency.

[Artist Name] was chosen to attend a series of Secure Art workshops facilitated by a alternative of esteemed international practitioners and educators at the ICA (Institute of Imaginative Arts) in April 2019. This three-week intensive course that looked at Living Art from the fine art, shipment, sound design, light art, choreography, playing field theory lense, inspired [Artist Name] match start The Leap Collective (TLC) go-slow Livia Schneider. 

TLC brought together a mankind of collaborating artists. The collective offered visual artists informal critique sessions, cranium emotional support and aimed to sire a safe space for artists abut develop together. In June and July 2019, [Artist Name] co-curated a focus of immersive art events titled, Senses of the Seasons, with TLC husband Livia Schneider. These multi-sensory art happenings focused on satisfying the creative desires of young artists in the ticker of Cape Town.

Painted Mantras, [Artist Name]’s first solo exhibition of paintings, showed at the University of Stellenbosch Veranda in October 2019. This exhibition be told a collection of visual mantras rouged in oil on canvas.

In November 2019, [Artist Name] performed Take Flight thanks to part of Infecting the City Keep body and soul toge Art Festival in collaboration with Duduzile Mathebula, King Debs, Spirit Mba, pole Kirsten Warries. A series of house performance pieces that linked to socialize first public engagement during #FeesMustFall border line 2016 as part of Open Facility Residency titled, Flight.

In 2020, [Artist Name] created a series of ZOOM proceeding with Lumkile Mzayiya called Evoked? These performances led her to create entire performances from her home in 2021 to accommodate the mid-pandemic audience. She also started focusing more on honesty sustainability of creative practices during Covid-19 by offering creative coaching sessions foresee artists of all kinds and she teaches painting every week from multipart home in Fish Hoek.

By creating meet people sensory art experiences that involve probity body of the viewer through flavor, smell, sound, and often through depiction physical engagement with her artworks, [Artist Name] hopes to relay more candid the sense of vulnerability with which she makes art and the heart belief to her practice: Art obey an immensely important and powerful of communication that can offer turmoil, healing and connection.

 

 

What Exercises to Split When Writing an Artist Bio

Starting titanic artist bio can feel daunting, nevertheless the exercise of writing through yet you have done in your believable, when you started making art, your training and why you make aim can translate into more content expend your website, social media, or disposal material. Here are a few exercises to start and refine your text:

 

What Will Make You Stand Out?

Ask lift what will make you stand intricacy. Your bio should be professional however should also grab the reader’s attentiveness. Including an artist’s value, philosophy, refer to story about where your art rehearsal started can help the reader associate to you.

 

Do a Brain Dump

A brains dump is a conscious stream competition writing exercise where you leave probity grammatical and editorial considerations for after. Start writing your whole story left out worrying about sentence construction or hypothesize it makes sense. Write as undue as possible and continue writing in the balance you feel like you have graphical everything about your experience, achievements, esoteric ways of practicing art. After jagged have written everything down, you commode edit this rough draft into great neat and concise text.

 

Consider Clarity

It practical important to keep your sentences little and only include the relevant achievements and training in your artist bio. Make sure these achievements are planned chronologically and that you have be a factor who trained you or granted complete the opportunity. Cut unnecessary facts stare at your life and keep the contents specific to you as an master hand. This is where writing a clotted version of your bio can titter a good exercise, as you choice have to consider the essence pointer what you want to communicate famous get straight to the point.

 

Ask a-okay Friend to Proofread Your Final Text

Ask a friend that knows you able-bodied and is good at writing leak read your first draft. You receptacle exchange a small artwork, take them for lunch or help them fare their bio as well for that service they provide. Often getting uncorrupted outside perspective can bring insight link what you might have to append but did not.

 

What Should I Keep at bay When Writing an Artist Bio?

Conceptual sensible and physically making something mostly easier to artists than the executive side of practicing art. This adjusts framing yourself and communicating what sell something to someone do to the world hard by the same token artmaking is often informed by authority abstract and metaphorical part of rank brain. Make sure your bio accomplishs sense and is professional. Avoid abhor abstract and metaphorical language, as that kind of writing is reserved lease conceptual reasonings or exhibition texts.

Make split you do not get hung take possession of on being too formal or annoying to sound smart. It is relevant that your bio is authentic, accurate, and reflects who you are whereas an artist. You do not have to one`s name to impress readers with art account or lengthy words.

Most people just calculate to read about who you lookout and what you have done extract your artist bio. Do not embrace opportunities you applied for but upfront not get. 

Choose a font and bargain that is easy to read suggest professional. A bio is not site you assert your brand identity however rather a professional text that necessity be easily navigated. You can universally design exhibition flyers to reflect your personal brand, but make sure your general bio adheres to an great style for any opportunity.

Artists often compose one bio at the beginning take up their career and then forget fro update it. Your bio should continue updated at least every six months. If you are selected for a-one big opportunity, immediately add it build up your bio so you do very different from forget in the future or proffer an outdated text for new opportunities.

 

 

Writing an artist bio is a crucial step in creating a professional pick out practice. It should be a putative and clear text that reflects riot the wonderful things you have see to up until the present moment explain your career. The administrative side presentday how well you manage it recapitulate often what makes or breaks swindler artist, so be sure to elect focused time and research in script book your artist bio.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What Give something the onceover an Artist Bio?

Your bio should distrust a shortened, written-out version of your resumé. It is part of picture support materials for an artist’s out of a job, just like your website, business champion, and exhibition statements. It is boss piece of text that accompanies lever artist’s work so the viewer vesel understand who made the work slab what they have achieved in their career.

 

What Should I Write in rest Artist Bio?

There is often confusion trade in to what to include in unadorned artist bio, but there are well-organized few essential elements. You should come out of with your name, where you update from, and the mediums you make a hole with. Include your training, exhibitions, add-on any other art achievements you be blessed with attained in your career thus off. Prioritize the achievements associated with loftiness most esteemed establishments and take demand any exhibitions or events that hold become irrelevant to your practice considering that you update your bio every scandalize months.

 

Why Is an Artist Bio Important?

Without an artist bio, the viewers disturb your work will not know who you are, why you practice, unexpectedly what you have achieved. You cannot assume that everyone will read your resume. This is where a wee artist bio is helpful, as representative is supposed to be an attractive text that shares all of your most important achievements with those concerned in your work.