Are you a fresh graduate artist looking for a direction? Start by putting together three tools that will be of great help throughout your artistic career: the artist statement, the artist portfolio, and the CV.

For many artists, it is a great challenge to explain their visual work in words, but you will need the three presentation tools for absolutely everything from applying for scholarships, residencies, and competitions to getting an interview with an art gallery or interacting with the public interested in art.

An artist statement is the most important tool because it can influence how your audience perceives your art. The artist statement refers to a brief description of yourself and the type of art you are practicing. For example, you can write about the moment you realized you wanted to be an artist or you can talk about what art represents to you, your relationship with art, or the specificity of your creation. You may as well choose to argue the option for a particular theme or artistic technique. If the art you practice has social, political, or ecological implications you should include in the description the event that marked you and determined you to become interested in the socio-political area.

The artist portfolio contains the most remarkable works of an artist. It is very important to photographically document each work, but it relies on quality, not quantity when selecting images for your portfolio. Choose the most representative works, giving up the works you are not entirely satisfied with. The purpose of an artist portfolio is to highlight the artistic abilities, style, or method of work.

The CV is built over time. Do not be discouraged if there will not be a lot of information to present at first. All the great artists started from somewhere. In time, collaborations, projects, contests, exhibitions, or activities in which you will participate will appear, and your CV will constantly enrich with experiences that will reflect your artistic path step by step.

As complicated as it may seem, look at it as an exercise through which you can identify what your real goals, intentions, and aspirations are. Having a clear idea of your mission, you will feel much more prepared to talk about your artistic practice and to present yourself with enthusiasm and a lot of confidence in the artistic environment.

Do not forget to always adapt the presentation according to the context and the purpose you are pursuing.

We hope that this information will be useful to you! See you soon!