By Canvy
To write an artist statement, say what you make, how you make it and why, in 100 to 300 plain words. Write it in the first person, the way you'd explain your work to a visitor in your studio. Leave out your life story and your list of shows. This guide on how to write an artist statement gives you a structure to fill in, a list of what to cut and a way to test the result.
What an artist statement is for
An artist statement is a short text that describes what you make and why you make it. That's how The Creative Independent's guide by Sarah Hotchkiss defines it, and it's a good test for every sentence you write.
You'll be asked for one more often than you expect. Amplify Arts' resource guide says almost every application needs one, from grants and residencies to grad school and teaching jobs. It's also useful for an artist talk, for a press release and for the printed material at an exhibition.
The same guide makes a point that's easy to forget. For many readers, the statement is their first introduction to your work. They may read it before they see a single piece, so it has to make sense without the pictures.
A statement is not a bio. Your bio covers your career: where you trained, where you've shown, what you've won. Your statement covers the work. Keep them as two texts, because people will ask for each one separately.
How long it should be, and who is speaking
Start short. The Creative Independent's guide puts a statement between 100 and 300 words, and adds that shorter is better. Amplify Arts and GYST's guidelines both set the upper limit at one page.
The Wisconsin Arts Board suggests keeping two versions, a short one of around 150 words and a longer one of around 500. Write the short one first. It fits your website, a show's handout and most forms. Write the long one when an application asks for it.
When an application sets a length, follow it. Amplify Arts warns that statements that ignore the guidelines are typically the first to be thrown out.
On voice, the guides disagree. GYST and Amplify Arts say first person: "I", not "the artist". The Wisconsin Arts Board lists the third person. First person is the more common advice, and it's easier to write without sounding stiff. If a venue asks for the third person, change the pronouns and read it through again.
How to write an artist statement in three paragraphs
Three short paragraphs are enough. Each one answers a single question.
Paragraph 1: what you make
Name your medium in the first sentence or two. Then describe the work for someone who can't see it: the subject, the size, the colors, the surface. Amplify Arts suggests asking whether your statement gives an idea of what your work looks like. If a stranger couldn't picture it, add a detail.
Paragraph 2: how you make it
Pick the one or two choices that shape how the work turns out. Maybe you paint from memory instead of photos, or print on fabric you dye yourself. The Kennesaw State University Writing Center puts it as a question: why did you select the materials and method you used? Say why, and skip the rest of the process.
Paragraph 3: why you make it
This is the hard one. Say what you keep coming back to, and what the current work is about. Be specific. Amplify Arts gives "I'm inspired by nature" as a sentence that could apply to anyone, and asks what about nature inspires you. The answer to that second question is your sentence.
The order is yours. Kennesaw's sample format opens with the why and ends with the current work. Use the order that makes your first sentence the strongest.
Questions that get the first draft down
A blank page is harder than a question. Answer these out loud, record yourself on your phone, and type up what you said.
- What would you say if a friend asked what your work is about?
- What choices did you make on purpose, and why?
- How does this work build on what you made before, or differ from it?
- What are you trying to say in the work?
The first three come from Kennesaw's handout and the last from GYST. Your spoken answers are usually plainer than anything you'd write cold, and plain is what you want.
What to leave out of an artist statement
Most weak statements are too full. Cut these first.
- Your life story. Kennesaw's handout says the focus of a statement is the art, not the artist. Childhood and family belong only when the work is about them.
- Your accomplishments. Shows, prizes and collections go in your bio and CV.
- Every step of your process. One or two choices tell the reader more than a full recipe.
- Art jargon. Amplify Arts, GYST, Kennesaw and the Wisconsin Arts Board all warn against it. If you wouldn't say a word out loud, replace it.
- Grand claims about your work or your role as an artist.
- Sentences any artist could sign, such as having loved art since you were a child.
- "Hope" and "try". The Creative Independent's guide says your art shouldn't hope or try to do something to the viewer. Say what it does.
Test it, then keep it current
Read your statement out loud. You'll hear the sentences that aren't yours. Then show it to people. The Creative Independent's guide recommends a mix of art friends, non-art friends, family and mentors. Ask one of them to tell you what your work is about after reading it. If their answer surprises you, the statement isn't done.
A statement is never finished for good. Go back to it for each application and each exhibition, and revise it when you complete a new body of work. Amplify Arts points out that the statement should speak to the work you submit with it.
Keep every version in one file: the short one, the long one and one for each series. When you hang a show, the short version can go on the wall or on the handout, beside your labels and price list.
Give your statement a page next to your work
A statement does the most when it sits beside the art. On your own website, that means a page a visitor can reach from the menu, one click from the galleries.
With a Canvy Portfolio Website, you add that page yourself. You can write your bio, list your exhibitions or explain how commissions work. The page editor has headings, text, quotes, images, video and galleries, and every page gets its own place in your menu.
The galleries on the site come straight from your artwork library, and they update when you change an artwork. Each piece has its own description too, and Canvy can suggest a title, description and tags to start from. Your statement covers the whole practice, and a description covers one piece.
See how it works on the Portfolio Website page. Canvy is free to start.
