You are an artist that expresses your most inner thoughts and feelings through your art. Writing about yourself and your art can seem about as far outside the box as you can imagine what an artist should be. However, creating a clear, concise artist statement is a valuable tool that can be used for a variety of purposes and uses, from grant and fellowship applications to gallery showings and job interviews.

What is an Artist Statement?

An artist statement introduces you as an artist. It is a written document that explains who you are, the art you create, and additional information about a specific piece or cluster of works, or your overall body of work.

An effective and useful artist statement will typically contain several key elements that will best describe your artistic vision and explain your artistic works, including:

  • Your personal relationship with art and your motivations for creating your work
  • Your medium and why you chose it
  • How you do what you do, including such items as your favorite genre, what size canvas you prefer, and tools you use to create your art
  • Descriptions of your current or featured works, what they mean to you, and what they will mean to your audience

Why Do You Need an Artist Statement?

Your artist statement is often the first and only link between your work and your audience. You can use it in conjunction with portfolio and application submissions for competitions, galleries, museums, and grants. It can be displayed alongside displays of your art in person or on your website.

Some common places and uses for your artist statement include:

  • Submit to gallery owners or curators requesting details about your work
  • Competitive event or an artist collective
  • Graduate school application
  • Grants or other applications requesting funding
  • Applying for a teaching position
  • Submit to reviewer writing about your work
  • Introduction of your creative work for potential buyers

Tips for Writing Your Artist Statement

Writing an artist statement can be a daunting task for artists like who feel most comfortable communicating through your art. However, you are the expert on your art and can best explain and describe your body of work.

Some tips that can help guide you through the process of creating an artist statement that will grab the attention of your audience and present you as a serious, dedicated artist.

1. Share Your Story

Your artist statement is not meant to be a cookie cutter mission statement that sounds like you are trying to sell siding or insurance. This is a golden opportunity to tell your story. Explain what drew you to your art and why you do what you do. Sharing your motivations, inspirations, and methods will make your art more personal to others.

2. Unique to Your Work

Whether you are applying for a grant or a job, or exposing your work to potential buyers, you need to explain what sets you and your art apart from others. Use the personal life experiences that have defined your artistic path to connect your life story to your art.

3. Engaging, Impactful Content

Get specific. Get emotional. Use the kind of language to describe you and your art that will engage the reader into making a personal connection with your works. Think of your artist statement as a surrogate to represent your art in your absence. Make the content speak in a conversational tone and in terms that make it your own.

4. Keep It Simple

An artist statement is not meant to be a long, rambling manifesto. You are simply introducing yourself and explaining your art in a few short paragraphs. Speak from the heart and explain what your art does for you and what hope it will do for the audience.

5. Use a Professional Content Writer

Your artist statement can be used for a wide range of purposes. It is your physical description and representation of the business of your art. A professional content writer can help articulate what you want to say in ways that will be understood by the reader in the way you are envisioning it. Professional web writers can also help to prepare and optimize the content to give your website the greatest chance to get the widest reach to the largest possible audience.

Intrackt Specializes in Artist Websites

Intrackt is a full service web design and digital marketing company specializing in helping artists build and maintain websites that look great and perform well in today’s digital marketplace. If you need help writing your artist statement contact Intrackt for complete information on all of your web design and marketing needs.