This guide covers:
➡ What is the difference between a regular CV and an artist’s CV?
➡ When would you need one?
➡ What to include
➡ Formatting and presentation
➡ Examples and general tips
Written by: Shae Myles
Edited by: Shae Myles & Georgia Tooke
How to Make an Artist’s CV
Part One: Starting Out
What is the difference between a regular CV and an artist’s CV?
Your artist CV should reflect everything you’ve done within your practice. Its purpose is to show a comprehensive history, including all your accomplishments and achievements.
A regular CV is usually more about things you’ve done in your personal life, outside of your practice. Things like the part time work you carried out while studying (for example retail/ hospitality jobs), high school/further education (non-art related) etc. Don’t include anything like this, as it’s not relevant!!
When would you need an artist CV?
When applying for opportunities like residencies, commissions, funding etc
When applying for creative jobs
It’s good to have one on your website (plus a downloadable copy available)
What should I include?
▢ Basic info (your name, contact details, where you are based, relevant social handles/website links)
▢ Details on your education if relevant (post-secondary, courses, etc)
▢ Shows you’ve been in/curated (solo, group)
▢ Awards - that you’ve won and been shortlisted/nominated for
▢ Commissions
▢ Residencies
▢ Links to relevant features/press
▢ Any art-related work you’ve carried out
▢ References
Part Two: Formatting & Presentation
How long should it be?
Unless otherwise stipulated, we feel that your artist CV should be condensed into one single page. This might not seem like a lot, but think about how many CVs the recipient will have to look through.
What if I can’t fit everything I’ve done onto one page?
As with everything to do with your professional practice, try and be concise. If you really have to, extending your CV to two pages is fine, but it’s always best to edit down to include only what is relevant and reflects your experience to the best of your ability. If you are omitting info like exhibitions, for example, you can title it “selected group shows” instead of “group shows”.
How should it look?
Your artist CV should reflect your practice. If you work in a minimal way, translate that into your CV. If you work with lots of colour and graphic imagery, make sure that comes across.
I like to match the colour palette and fonts of my CV to my website (as I have a copy linked there and want it to be seamless when you open the file directly from the website - see the example imagery included here). This can be done to whatever extent you feel is appropriate; small subtle elements, or bold, eye-catching additions. For example, Georgia added a little colourful logo with her initials in the header of her CV. It’s also important to make sure that everything is still legible, so make sure to use easy to read fonts/colours, and a decent pt size too.
Part Three: Top Tips
1. What if I don’t have much professional experience?
Including your artist statement or a short bio could help to bulk up your CV, and give the reader some insight into your practice.
Add some imagery. I wouldn’t usually recommend this but if done in a subtle way, this could really work to tie your CV together if you’re lacking text.
2. When submitting as part of an application:
If you’re submitting your CV as part of an application, and they’ve asked for things like examples of work, a proposal, or for you to answer questions etc, make sure that these are also formatted the same way to maximise the cohesion of your application.
3. Keep it up to date!
Whatever programme you create your CV on, make sure it’s easy to edit! This might seem obvious, but you’ll thank us later!! This saves so much time when it comes to small things like changing your colour palette to reflect your website update, or adding in a new show you’ve been featured in!
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We hope that this guide has been helpful in straightening out what to include in your artist CV! If you’d like us to look over and provide feedback on your first draft or your current CV, please get in touch! We’d love to chat this over with you - it’s what we’re here for!
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Remember these are some tips to get you started, and that we’re both learning and growing with you! If you think we missed anything in this guide, just let us know!
Lots n lots of luv,
Shae and Georgia xo