4 Things They Didn't Teach You At Art School About Writing

4 Things They Didn’t Teach You At Art School About Writing

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Learn To Master The Important Written Basics Of The Art World

We learn a lot from art school or university. Being surrounded by that much creativity, it’s hard to not feel inspired and push the boundaries of your practice.

But sometimes, you can leave the institution unsure of how to approach some very fundamental tasks that the art world asks of you. Such tasks are essential to the development of your art career and knowing how to do them is going to help unlock an abundance of art opportunities.

To help out, we’ve collated a list of some key things that art school might not have taught you to write.

How To Write An Artist Bio

Although short, an artist bio is maybe one of the most important pieces of text you’ll write as a professional artist. It’s essentially an extract of text used to describe you, the artist.

You’ll find as you develop your creative career, that artist bio’s will be asked on a variety of occasions from residency applications to exhibition proposals. There’s a number of things to include but don’t go over the top – just make sure the basics are covered. It will help save yourself time and worry by having an artist bio prepped and ready when needed. Try using the template below if you don’t know how to get started.

Artist Bio Template:

Working predominantly with [material/medium], artist and [an attribute/position] [artist full name] has been able to contribute their take on themes regarding [themes/inspirations/art movement etc] through their on-going practice. [last name] who was born in [year and location] takes influences from [artist inspirations], applying it to their [description of the artwork and practice]. Most known for [a key part of the work/recognisable style], [last name] has occupied a number of physical spaces including [notable exhibitions], leading to the achievement of [notable awards].

How To Write An Art Proposal

You may have come across art proposals for your degree show or art school projects, but there are some differences when you enter the world of art outside an institution. Proposals are needed for a variety of endeavours including exhibitions, residences and grants so it’s key that you know how to approach them.

No matter how great your creative idea is – the success of your proposals depends on how well you can articulate your plans, propositions and realisations. It needs to be clear and concise so the reader can visualise a realistic idea, whilst also exciting them so much that they take it on.

How do you do this? There’s a number of essential points to cover in your art proposal including: visual description of what you will make, influences behind it, what this means for you and your practice, how the gallery/organisation benefits and why this site in particular is imperative to the success of your idea.

When it comes to the format of your art proposal, make sure you’re reading the instructions clearly and answering questions directly. Be straight to the point with your responses, as you’ll usually have a limited word count. It’s also important to do your research. Ensure that you thoroughly understand what you’re applying to, including the organisation that will be facilitating your project.

How To Write An Artist CV

You’ve probably already got a general CV or resume from bar or retail jobs over the years, but what about an artist CV?

They probably didn’t teach you about them in art school as it wasn’t explicitly necessary at the time, however they play a big part in securing art opportunities after graduating. Unlike your average CV, this document isn’t simply a list of previous employment.

A gallery isn’t really interested in your work at a coffee shop whilst you were at university if they’re getting you in for an exhibition. They’re much more invested in your artistic achievements and professional experiences, like residences, shows and projects. You’ll also want to include links to any press or publications where your art has been mentioned, along with the basics like a bio, education and contact details.

With an artist CV, you can afford to be a bit more creative – you are an artist after all. Dedicate a page of your website to the CV, making it look interesting yet professional. Information on your artist CV still needs to be clear and readable, especially if you have a lot to include. Follow the industry standard when it comes to ordering your points by date, with most recent at the top.

You’ll also want to separate your exhibition examples by ‘group’ and ‘solo’ shows if you have quite a few. What if you don’t have a lot of experience to put on your artist CV? Try not to panic, as you’ll actually realise you have more to include than first originally thought. Consider all the group shows you did at university, or any self-directed study projects that are influential to your practice.

How To Write An Artist Statement

Another key document that you’ll need to know how to write is an artist statement. It’s very possible that you may have written one of these already without realising, as we’re often told to write about our work at university.

This is your opportunity to talk about your existing work and its reasonings, rather than you, the artist and your professional experience. Feel free to go beyond the basic visual description of your work and discuss its relevance to your artistic development, as well as contextual references.

Sometimes, it can be tempting to use wordy sentences and fancy art jargon for the sake of sounding established. Try to avoid that where possible, going with your own authentic way of describing art. It’s much more beneficial for your personality to shine through, in order for the readers to grasp a real understanding of your work.

An artist statement should help a viewer see the work in the way you’ve intended, therefore the tone in which you discuss the artwork should match up with the artist who has made it.

Unsure of how to start an artist statement? Start by noting down the ideas that come to mind when looking at your work. This can begin with simple terms, like its colour or material, but eventually as you build a mindmap of text, each statement leads into another. It can also be useful to hear from other people, getting them to describe your work. They could be picking up on something that you hadn’t even considered yet.

How To Write An Artist Contract

When it comes to business practices, an artist contract is something that you’re bound to come across. Its purpose is to set out an agreement between the artist and the client for whatever project or piece of work is being created. At art school, you’re probably not getting involved in large scale projects outside of your institution yet, but come graduation, these opportunities will become more frequent.

So how do you create an artist contract? First and foremost, you’ll need to understand your own working boundaries and expectations. This includes aspects like pay, conditions, work ownership and timeline. In terms of writing the artist contract, many creatives use checklists and templates to help them collect the information all together efficiently.

As it’s a legal document – it’s best that you seek professional advice from legal services or lawyers, who will be able to incorporate your local rules and regulations. This is important for the logistics of your artist contract, and making sure it’s valid.

How To Write An Artist Invoice

Similarly to an artist contract – artist invoices are another business document that you probably didn’t require in art school. However, if you’re wanting to sell work outside of education; you’re going to need an invoice.

Money can be a tricky subject to get your head around, but artist invoices are actually pretty simple. All you need to know is the list of services/materials you’ve used, your bank details, your clients details and then you’re ready. Most creatives will use an artist invoice template each time and adjust the document as they go. We’ve got our own example if you’re in need of some help here.

Why is it important to use an artist invoice? As well as keeping you and your client organised – the artist invoice proves that you’re a professional creative that takes their craft seriously. You’ll want to maintain positive relationships with every client that you work with – and having a clear and concise artist invoice goes a long way to doing just that.

Why didn’t art school teach us this?

You may be questioning why more emphasis isn’t put on these fundamental written tasks that every artist will come across at some point. The answer may vary between different institutions, but in essence, art school is there to develop your creative practice in a fairly short window of time.

A lot of focus goes into experimentation, finding your art style and understanding the motives behind your work rather than lessons in how to write CV’s. It’s almost assumed that graduates will pick up on industry standards through experience, which to an extent – is true. However, it can also be useful to have a heads up before leaping into the world of art, which hopefully these ‘how-to’ guides do.

DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER THINGS THAT ART SCHOOL DIDN’T TEACH YOU? LET US KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

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