ARTISTS PORTFOLIO

CV & BIOGRAPHY
 ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

An artist biography (or ‘artists biog’) is usually

a short paragraph about you and your career
as a practitioner. It may also contain a line
about the key themes to your practice. Artists
Biographies are often confused with two other
tools used for self promotion like artist CVs
and artist statements. Though presenting
similar information, a biography differs from a
CV in being only a paragraph written in prose.
An artist statement talks about the work and
the thinking behind it, while the bio talks only
about the person themselves.
 What should be included in an
effective artist’s bio?

1. Anyone or anything that has influenced the artist’s

artworks.
2. Any education or training in the field of art.
3. Any related experience in the field of art.
4. A summary of the artist’s artistic philosophy.
5. Any artistic insights or techniques that are
employed by the artist.
6. A short description of what the artist would like to
accomplish with their art.
 The following are some helpful hints on how
an artist can create an interesting bio;

1. Keep the bio structure short, concise and to the point. A rambling
disjointed bio will only confuse or lose the reader all together. Always
write the bio in the third person (as if someone other than the artist
is writing the bio).
2. Try to write the bio differently 2 or 3 times and then have
someone with good writing and communication skills proof the
various bios and help you to pull them together into one great bio
(there will be different aspects of each bio that are written better
than the others).
3. Get an artist(s) who you respect and admire to read your final
version and make any suggestions to help improve the final bio. Does
this bio reflect you as a person, as an artist and does it accurately
describe your art?
4. Finally, after any changes are made as described above, have
someone who is an expert in spelling, grammar and sentence
structure review and make any necessary changes to the bio.
Keep your bio up to date with any new work, influences and
experience that may have changed you, your art and your artistic
perspective. Make sure that you have an appropriate and up to date
image of yourself that is included with your bio.
*NOTE Don’t confuse an artist’s statement with a biography. They
should be two separate documents with different purposes.
 SAMPLE BIOGRAPHIES

• Sbo Ndlovu was born in Durban, South Africa in 1970. Ndlovu

works predominantly in the medium of painting, but includes
video in his large scale installations. Ndlovu completed an MFA
with distinction at the Michaelis School of Fine Art in Cape Town
in 2006. He has had solo shows in Cape Town at Blank Projects,
Bell-Roberts Gallery and the South African National Gallery, the
KZNSA in Durban as well as the Fondazione Bevilaqua La Masa in
Venice. He is represented in the collection of the South African
National Gallery. Ndlovu is the newly appointed judge of the Spier
Contemporary 2010. He lives and works in Cape Town.

• Jarno Juhani Harakkamäki (s.1976 Tampere) lives here and works

there Home in Kerava, studio and educational work in Helsinki.
Works in the fields of audio, video, theater, installations and
drawing. Harakkamäki is interested in about history, silence,
culture and sounds. He likes colours red and black, coffee,
cinnamon, pranks, details, words, sharp pencils and the little
things.
 ARTIST CV

HELPFUL TIPS
• A CV should be easy to read. The paper should be white, off white
or ivory in colour. Font size should be no smaller than 10 pt. and
should be a font that is easy to read (Arial, Times Roman,
Helvetica, Palatino are good examples). Always proofread your CV
for errors.
• The headings or categories that outline your creative work will be
most critical to catching the eye of the reader.
• Don't oversell your work and always remember that less is more.
Your CV should be neatly organized, and only include information
pertinent to your artistic career. Be sure the headings and sub-
headings are clear. They should stand out and can be bulleted,
bold, underlined, or italicized.
• One of the best ways to write an effective CV is to see how other
artists do it. There are many different practices and ways of
organizing your information available online. Many galleries or
artist’s post CVs on their website so they are easily accessible.
Google is your friend.
• Update your CV regularly. It's easier to apply for grants when you
have your CV prepared and updated with your latest work. In this
sense, your CV will always be changing and evolving with your
development as an artist. You'll find yourself editing out old or
irrelevant factors. You may want to keep copies of old CV so that
you can keep track of the entirety of your body of work.
 ARTIST CV

The following is a list of the information that should be included in your CV. Just
remember that not all of these suggestions necessarily apply to all artists.
• Personal Information: Include Name, Address, Phone Number, Email, and Website (if
applicable).
• Education: List all the academic degrees you've earned making note of particular
honours. You can include periods of study at schools and universities attended without
completing a degree. Additional course work or studies in addition to workshops can
be included. Be sure to mention any notable artists and instructors with whom you
have studied. Always list these in descending order with the most recent being at the
top.
• Grants and Awards: List any awards or prizes won in competitions as well as grants,
fellowships, scholarships and other recognitions. Always list these in descending order
with the most recent being at the top and naming of the grant/award as well as city
and province.
• Works Produced: List your accomplishments and major works as an artist. Always list
these in descending order by year with the most recent being at the top and delineated
according to type (see examples below). List the name of the exhibit/production
followed by gallery/theatre company and then city and province. In the case of
exhibitions, you can split them into two or more categories: solo exhibitions, group
exhibitions, and even duo exhibitions. For performance artists and theatre, list relevant
projects or productions and divide them up according to your role (director, playwright,
performer). The same for digital and film artists. The variety of arts disciplines might
include:
o Exhibitions
o Productions/Performances
o Performances/Recordings
o Films/ Videos/Shorts /Digital Media /TV
o Published Works (where you are the author or co-author)
o Collaborations (if you have work with others you may want to list it, as well, by indicating your
role in the collaboration)
 ARTIST CV

• Publications: List any items or articles that you have written pertaining to your work as
an artist. In the case of authors, this section is different than the Published Works since
it is referring to work related to your career as an artist but distinct from your body-of-
work. Publications might include non-fiction writing as well as magazine and newspaper
articles. Online articles can be included but be selective about such entries and limit
them to those directly relevant to your practise and best encapsulate your work. Always
list these in descending order with the most recent being at the top.
• Commissions: List any public or private commission you have done. Always list these in
descending order with the most recent being at the top.
• Collections: List any public or private collections that you are a part of and always list
these in descending order with the most recent being at the top.
• Media and Bibliography: List any items that have been written about you and your
work. This includes articles, reviews, catalogues entries and radio and television
interviews. This section should not be confused with the publications category. Always
list these in descending order with the most recent being at the top and naming the
article title, author, publication details, pages, and date of publication or broadcast.
• Residencies: List any arts residencies in which you have participated and remember that
these should be separate from education. Always list these in descending order with the
most recent being at the top.
• Public Speaking: List any lectures, readings and keynote addresses you can mention it
here. Always list these in descending order with the most recent being at the top.
• Professional Affiliations: List any arts memberships you are a part of or any board you
have served on. You can also list conference at which you have been an invited or
featured guest but speaking at these events is listed elsewhere. “Professional
Memberships” or “Professional Service” may also be used. Always list these in
descending order with the most recent being at the top and naming the organization as
well as your specific role.
 PORTFOLIOS

Things to consider

• format
• content
• convenience

You can choose between different formats: depending

on your artistic practice

• including Image CDs / DVDs / MP3s

• hard or soft-cover books printed online,
• purely digital .pdf portfolios, etc.
PORTFOLIO EXAMPLES
PORTFOLIO EXAMPLES
PORTFOLIO EXAMPLES
 LINKS

Visual/performing
http://www.elenabajo.com/
Audio Visual Artist
http://www.jarnoharakkamaki.com/
Writers
http://louisetickle.co.uk/
Arto Kivimäki
http://www.teos.fi/kirjailijat/arto-kivim%C3%A4ki.html
Arto Kivimäki _ teos.fi.htm