How to Write an Artist Bio Without Wanting to Crawl Into a Hole
Writing about yourself is weird.
You can spend six months making an entire body of work, confidently talk about another artist’s practice for an hour, and then someone asks you to write 150 words about yourself and suddenly you have absolutely nothing to say.
The good news is that your artist bio doesn’t need to be complicated.
It just needs to quickly tell someone who you are, what you do and a little about your creative career.
And once you have a good one written, you can use it over and over again.
First, an artist bio is NOT an artist statement
These two get mixed up all the time.
Your artist statement is about your work.
It might talk about the ideas behind your practice, the themes you explore, your materials, processes and what you're trying to communicate through your work.
Your artist bio is about YOU.
It tells someone who you are, where you're based, what kind of creative you are and some of the things you've done throughout your career.
Think of it as your professional creative introduction.
Start with the basics
Your opening sentence should make it incredibly easy to understand who you are.
Include your:
• Name
• Location
• Creative practice
• Primary medium or area of work
For example:
“Cassie Hutchinson is an Adelaide based multidisciplinary artist whose practice explores botanicals through painting, illustration and large scale public art.”
We immediately know who the artist is, where they're based and what kind of work they create.
You don't need to make it overly complicated.
Add some context to your practice
Once you've introduced yourself, you can give us a little more information about your creative background.
This might include:
• Your creative influences
• Recurring themes in your work
• Your background or training
• Your approach to making
• What drives your practice
• How your practice has developed
The important word here is LITTLE.
Your artist bio is not your autobiography.
Choose the information that actually helps someone understand who you are as a creative.
Include some career highlights
This will look completely different depending on where you are in your career.
You might include:
• Solo or group exhibitions
• Awards
• Grants
• Residencies
• Public art projects
• Major commissions
• Collections
• Publications
• Collaborations
• Festivals or art fairs
You don't need to include everything.
That's what your CV is for.
Choose a few things that demonstrate where your creative practice currently sits.
And if you're an emerging artist and don't have a giant list yet?
That's completely fine.
Don't pad your bio with things just because you think it needs to sound impressive.
Write in third person
Yes, it feels strange.
But there is a practical reason for it.
Instead of:
“I am an Adelaide based painter...”
write:
“Cassie Hutchinson is an Adelaide based painter...”
Your bio will often be used by galleries, publications, festivals, event organisers and arts organisations.
Writing it in third person means they can copy and paste it directly into their website, catalogue, media release or program.
Make their life easy.
Have multiple versions ready
This is one of my favourite creative admin tricks.
Create three versions:
Short bio: around 50 words
Medium bio: around 100 words
Long bio: around 150 to 200 words
Save them all in your artist admin folder.
Next time an application asks for a 100 word bio, you're not starting from scratch at 11pm the night before the deadline.
You simply update and tailor what you already have.
Cassie's Tip
Keep a master bio and update it as your career develops.
Every six months or so, have another read.
Have you completed a major exhibition?
Received a grant?
Finished a residency?
Created a significant public artwork?
Add the things that matter and remove the things that no longer feel particularly relevant.
Your artist bio isn't something you write once and keep forever.
It should grow alongside your creative career.
