Welcome to Crafting Strategic Artist Statements and Bios!

Writing about ourselves can be hard. What do we include, and what do we leave out? How can we elaborate on our achievements without sounding like we are bragging? Or, how do we downplay our beginner status in a field where we still feel we are breaking into?

image description: Calvin hands Hobbes a paper while saying, "As my artist's statement explains, my work is utterly incomprehensible and is therefore full of deep significance."

These are questions I hear frequently as a writing consultant. I believe when it comes to autobiographical writing, like artist statements and bios, examining the purpose, deciding on a target audience, and getting to know ourselves better all make for a less stressful and more enjoyable writing experience. Having to write about ourselves takes practice, and you may have to write several versions before you are happy with what you have written. My ultimate hope is that this process can become a fulfilling one, bringing new insight into your art, your goals, and your artistic identity.

This course is split into three sections:

1. Introduction
2. Writing Elements & Activities
3. Putting It All Together

By the end of this course, you should have a "working draft" of an artist statement and an artist bio. While everyone's revision process is different, I would highly recommend playing with different styles and structures for both your statement and bio once you have a working draft that you are pleased with.

You will need a space to take notes and to complete the writing activities. Feel free to hand-write or type, whichever you feel most comfortable with. (I personally like to hand-write for brainstorming and notes, but then type when I am ready for a paragraph-style draft.)