How To Write Your Artist Bio
Your artist bio is essential for your career as an artist. If you submit your work to galleries for exhibits and competitions, almost all of them will ask for an artist’s bio. It provides prospective collectors, gallery owners, curators, grant givers, and writers knowledge about you and your career accomplishments before they decide to invest in your art and promote you.
On your website, your artist bio is your About page. It essentially explains who you are and what you’re about. Your artist bio helps others understand what makes you unique and tells them about your artist journey.
You can personalize your artist bio to reflect your art brand and your voice. An artist bio may briefly explain the most important highlights of:
- How you began creating art
- Your art education history
- Your best and brightest exhibitions, media mentions, and collaborations
- How you began working in your current style
- What is unique about you and your work
- The main messages or themes of your work
Think of an artist bio as an extended elevator pitch: you’ve got a few extra floors to cover, so you can give a decent overview of who you are and what you’re about.
What An Artist Bio Is NOT
An artist bio is not an artist statement.
While it can be tempting to expound on your philosophical underpinnings of your specific style of oil painting or get deeply involved in the spiritual side of your art practice, an artist bio is not the place for it.
In the simplest terms:
· An artist bio is a personal statement about you
· An artist statement is about your art practice
· An artist CV is an outline of your achievements (think your resume)
Step 1: How to Write an Artist Bio
Your artist biography should be a summary of significant facts about your art career written in the third person (she, he, they, etc.). Begin by introducing yourself with your name, medium, and some background information. This can include where you were born, where you work, and when you first became interested in art. Next, discuss any art training or schooling you had and degrees earned. If none, state you’re self-taught.
Then move on to discuss your exhibitions, awards, and any other professional achievements. You can also mention if you’re featured in any important collections or prominent art publications. But, be sure not to overwhelm the reader with too much self-promotion. Choose the best bits.
Then, segue into any recent shows or important projects you’re working on such as a public art installation. End strong with any upcoming exhibition, residencies, or projects.
Often, it is recommended to keep your artist bio to approximately 250 words or less. You can create different versions of your artist bio to use for different purposes.
Key elements to include:
Professional experience
Exhibition highlights
Award highlights
General career highlights
Elevator pitch of your work
A brief story of your trajectory toward pro artist
Step 2: Write Multiple Drafts
Kudos to those writers who can craft masterpieces without ever doing more than a first draft! If you’re not one of those gifted few (I definitely am not), I recommend writing two to three drafts. Don’t be afraid to inject some personality into your artist bio. While some of the components seem a bit dry, the tone and voice behind them can be anything but. Make sure to keep it professional, though!
Step 3: Edit, Edit, Edit, and then Edit Again
Make sure you keep your artist bio short and concise with a focused structure. Simple and readable will always trump art jargon and flowery language when it comes to your bio. Each short paragraph – two to three max – should be succinct and easily flow into the next.
Once you have it written, show it to a friend who has an excellent grasp of grammar and blessed with writing brilliance. Have them edit it. Check for spelling, grammar, word choice, and sentence structure errors.
Step 4: Show It To Another Artist
Have an artist you trust and admire read your final draft. A fresh set of eyes and a trained eye will be able to tell you if your bio correctly reflects you and your art.
Bonus Step: Continue to Update Your Bio as You Evolve
When you write your artist bio, it’s not a once-and-done forever thing. You want it to be the best expression of your career but don’t forget that your career is continually developing. Make sure your artist bio progresses with you! Add in and switch out professional achievements as your success and knowledge grows. You will probably need to rewrite it over time. This means you are evolving and maturing as an artist.
Things to Avoid in an Artist Bio
Avoid writing about intimate, personal experiences that are not related to your career or artistic vision.
Avoid the use of jargon, colloquialism, and esoteric language that will alienate most people, not to mention confuse them.
Avoid writing long biographies about your trials and tribulations beginning with childhood, grade school, etc.
Avoid grandiose, over-inflated, bloviating stuff about yourself.
Avoid writing excessive quotes and references to famous artists.
Examples of Great Artist’s Bios
