How to write your Bio, CV and Artists Statement

At OMMA’s members meeting this evening, Julia Lockie presented a helpful handout all about biographies, artist statements and CVs for artists, a topic of confusion and fear for many, certainly of procrastination for others. Of all the things we do, this is probably one of our least favourite. But as explained, they are a vitally important part of every artist’s practice if you want to have your work seen, get your name out there and possibly even known.

There is no avoiding the fact that writing these three documents will require a few hours of your time, possibly some inquiries and/or searching the old memory bank and the help of a trusted friend or colleague for proofreading and feedback. But OMMA is also here to help you, especially since having some sort of document about you and your art work will be mandatory should we wish to have a City of Ottawa show in the future.

So for those of you who may have missed this evening’s presentation and work session, the documents are available for you to print from this website. Just click HERE.

I wish also to credit the following web sources for helping me to put together a fairly complete and useful package for our OMMA members, no matter how experienced they may be.

https://thepracticalartworld.com

https://artprof.org/art-school/mfa-programs-art-school/how-to-write-an-artist-cv-resume/#:~:text=When%20you%20have%20no%20professional,will%20just%20clutter%20your%20paperwork.

https://www.swintonsart.com/post/the-difference-between-an-artist-statement-a-bio-and-a-cv

https://www.framedestination.com/blog/resources/writing-artist-biography-vs-statement-why-you-need-both

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/artist-statement-examples

https://bluethumb.com.au/blog/how-to/write-artist-bio/

https://www.artworkarchive.com/blog/how-to-write-an-appealing-artist-biography

https://www.drelizabethmaclean.com/blog/how-to-craft-a-bio-and-artist-statement-like-a-pro