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Studio Art

Resources for Studio Art majors and students taking art courses

Writing an Artist Statement

Writing clear and effective Artist Statements will be integral to your coursework as well as help you apply for jobs, grants, and internships.

Writing Your Statement

Your artist statement acts as an introduction to your work. A good artist statement will complement and encourage further engagement with your work. A good starting point is to reflect on the below prompts.

  • What your work means to you
  • What materials you use
  • Your process for making your work
  • What inspires your work or your latest body of work
  • What your work represents

[From Lisa Congdon's Art Inc.]

Artist Statements are written in the first person, you are describing your point of view during the creation of your work. Tailor your statement for your audience. While an artist statement for a class can include the jargon of the discipline, an artist statement for a gallery show should be more accessible.

GYST and EBSQ both offer helpful pages on writing artist statements and have examples from contemporary and self-representing artists.

Similarly, try searching for the online portfolio of your favorite contemporary artist to see how they represent themselves. Galleries that host multiple artist's work will often have bios or artist statements attached to the artist's name.

Catalog Resources

Try searching the Reed College Library catalog for 'art vocational guidance statement' for more resources.

Email, call, or visit the library for more in-depth help with your questions!

Email Angie at beiriger@reed.edu if you would like to see other topics covered within this guide.