Visual artist bio example

by Jane Litchfield

As an artist, you may not be thrilled about writing about yourself, but you need an artist’s bio for your website, your portfolio, applications, shows, etc. So let’s make it simple, shall we?

Photo by Aaron Burden courtesy of Unsplashed

An artist’s bio is a short paragraph, written in prose, and in the third person. It tells more about the way your life has influenced your work than a CV, which is in point form. A bio is about you, the artist, as opposed to an “artist’s statement” which is more about the work and the themes behind it, and is written in first person.

In an ideal world, you would hire a professional writer to craft the perfect bio, but not everyone is ready to do that. (A great resource is PWAC, the Professional Writers Association of Canada, which has a Guelph chapter.) Here’s how to do it yourself, in five steps.

1) State the basics

The components of a bio are quite straight forward:

• Name and medium you work in; special techniques
• Key themes; what you hope to accomplish with your art
• Showing history; any collections your work is in
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  How to Write an Artist Statement & Artist Bio Like a Pro

  When you’re putting your art into the world by entering exhibitions, seeking gallery representation, or applying to publishing opportunities, you need to have a polished artist “presentation.” A big part of this presentation is a well-written and effective artist statement and artist bio. Your artist statement (which should be written in the first person, using “I”) helps introduce your art, giving the reader an understanding that will help them better appreciate your art when they look at it. Your artist bio (which should be written in third person, referring to you by your name and then either your last name or a pronoun in subsequent references) will introduce you as the person behind the art, giving the reader a peek into your background and life experience.

  I find that artists are asked for statements and bios in three different formats depending on the opportunity: long versions (with a 300 word limit), shorter versions (with 150 word limits), and extremely short versions (1-3 sentence limits). For this reason, I

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  An artist biography (or ‘artists biog’) is a paragraph or two about you and your career as a practitioner. It may also contain a line about the key themes to your practice.

  Biographies are often confused with other tools used for self-promotion. A biography differs from an artist’s CV in being only written in prose. An artist statement talks about the work and the thinking behind it. A biography talks about the person themselves.

  What to include in your artists’ biog

  The sort of key information in an artist’s biography might be:

  • Your name
  • The medium you work in
  • A line about the key themes, concerns of your practice.
  • Your showing history
  • Your art related education (degree level onwards)
  • Other interesting information relevant to your practice or career as an artist (e.g. collaborations or arts collectives, other areas or aspects to your career that inform your practice)
  • Where you live and work