{"id":6359,"date":"2020-06-10T17:06:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-10T16:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6359"},"modified":"2021-05-26T17:04:06","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T16:04:06","slug":"how-to-write-an-artist-bio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.contrado.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-write-an-artist-bio\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Write an Artist Bio: The Fundamentals of Your Artistic Identity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Part of being an artist – or a creative in\nany field – is self-promotion. And if you are looking to make being an artist\nyour full-time career, self-promotion is incredibly important. While your art\nwill obviously speak for itself when seen, there\u2019s a few other things that you will\nneed to help you draw your audience and customers in. And the best place to\nstart? Writing a new artist bio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is an artist bio and why do I need one? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

An artist bio is a short description of who\nyou are as an artist. The bio is typically written in 3rd<\/sup> person,\nand describes your inspiration, the mediums you work with and any awards or\nqualifications you may have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bio is like a website\u2019s About Me page,\nand if you have an online portfolio or store yourself, it can be used to\nintroduce the audience to your work. You will also find that competition\nsubmissions, gallery exhibits and press releases that you are involved in will\ntypically ask you for an artist bio, so it\u2019s good to have a little something\nprepared. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"write<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the difference between an artist bio, CV and statement? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While creating a portfolio of your work,\nyou\u2019ve probably also come across phrases like an \u2018artist CV\u2019 and an \u2018artist\nstatement\u2019 \u2013 both of which are different to your bio, so it\u2019s important to\nensure you\u2019ve got all three. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An artist CV<\/strong> will go into depth\nabout your education, jobs and awards in bullet point form \u2013 just like a\ntypical job CV. Your artist bio will essentially be your CV in long form, but\nonly highlighting the significant areas that are relevant to your art and you\nas an artist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An artist statement <\/strong>is similar to\nthe bio but can change depending on the situation: It may be more specific to\nelements of your work rather than your work as a whole. If you were exhibiting\nyour work at a gallery for example, and each piece within the collection has a\ntheme, your artist statement would talk about your creation of these pieces\nonly, and the inspiration for the specific pieces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An artist bio will talk about you, your inspiration,\nand your achievements as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"what<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to write an artist bio and what to include<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Similar to writing a CV, it can feel a bit\ncringeworthy or boastful writing an artist bio, but it\u2019s really important to\nshow off your confidence and belief in your work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help get the balance right, ask yourself\nthe questions below. Find links between the life-based and art-based answers,\nthen form these into material for your bio. For example, you may find that you\nwere born and raised in the city, but love to escape to the countryside, which\nis why your art is more rural and nature inspired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Where were you born? Where are\nyou live?<\/li>
  • What do you do for work?<\/li>
  • What did you study at school?\nUniversity?<\/li>
  • When were you first introduced\nto art? By whom?<\/li>
  • What obstacles and challenges\nhave you faced in life? <\/li>
  • What is your art about? What\nthemes are present? <\/li>
  • What is unique about your\ntechniques and work?<\/li>
  • What mediums do you work with?<\/li>
  • What is the first thing people\nnotice about your pieces?<\/li>
  • What influences your art?<\/li>
  • Has your art changed over the\nyears?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Asking yourself these questions and finding\nlinks may help you understand how to write your artist bio in a way that is\npersonal to you. It might even uncover the roots of your influences, and why\nyour art is the way it is \u2013 and this is the perfect information to write about.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can also mention your biggest\nachievements in your field: Have you won any awards or contributed to any\nexhibits? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you have space, add some upcoming ideas,\nso your audience can see your passion and enthusiasm to keep moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One thing to note: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    You are an artist: Whether you are\nself-taught or qualified, have won awards and do this as a full-time career or\njust as a hobby. It\u2019s important to remember to have confidence and not worry\nabout trying to prove yourself against other artists when creating your bio.\nYour art and who you are is what\u2019s important, and no matter how often you make\nart, or how much you earn from it, doesn\u2019t change the fact you can call\nyourself an artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"writing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    How long should my artist bio be?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    You\u2019ll find a lot of different answers to\nhow long your bio needs to be. Some will advise it\u2019s a whole page while others\nwill say a few paragraphs or as short as possible.
    \nIf you aren\u2019t certain, you could have several versions of your bio to suit\ndifferent sites. For example, your profile on Contrado is perfect for a 100-word\nbio, while your About The Artist page on your own portfolio site could go into\nmore detail and reach 600. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Truthfully, there\u2019s no real right or wrong\nwhen it comes to how to write an artist bio and how long it should be, but it\nis good to keep it concise and let your art do the talking. You don\u2019t want to\noverload your customers with information about <\/em>your work, when they\ncould be looking at<\/em> it instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you\u2019re still not sure on what length to go for, take a look at some short and long artist bio samples and see which ones engage you the most. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Know Your Audience <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    How to write an artist bio will depend on the audience you\u2019re working with. If you are selling your art and designs on different products at the market or your website, it\u2019s likely your customers aren\u2019t just other artists, so make sure you don\u2019t get too technical. Have someone with no art background read over your bio to see if they can still understand what you do, and what you\u2019re trying to portray through your art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Keep your tone of voice professional, but\nalso personal: You want your personality, and the personality of your art to\ncome through in everything you put out to the world \u2013 and that includes your written\nword.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"know<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Additional Tips: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
    • SEO: <\/strong>When thinking about how to write an artist bio, think about SEO too. Using search terms that are relevant to your niche will enhance your chances of being picked up by new customers on search engines.<\/li>
    • Make sure you spell check.<\/strong> There\u2019s nothing worse for self-promotion than a piece of work scattered with spelling errors and poor grammar.<\/li>
    • Use \u2018since 2009\u2019, rather than \u2018for 11 years\u2019 <\/strong>This way you don\u2019t need to update your bio everywhere it\u2019s posted each year. <\/li>
    • Start Big, Go Small<\/strong> If you\u2019re worried about fitting everything into a word count, try write down all your ideas and the information you want to include first. Then, work from there to highlight the best parts, and the not-so-important areas. It\u2019s easier to reduce words than trying to find more to add.<\/li>
    • Watch our video <\/strong>on how to set up a store. It’s quick and easy and comes with a tonne of benefits!<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
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