Writing Your Artist Statement (#50)

In this episode I want to talk about a document you can revisit (or perhaps face for the first time) that gives you power (control) over how your art is perceived. Yes, I'm talking about your artist statement. Don't be scared! This is important. And if you don't want to listen, you can read every word at YourArtistStatement.com. This pandemic has caused so many people to be introspective. If you're one of them, you might want put this time to good use and work on your statement, regardless of whether you're updating it, rewriting it, or facing it for the first time. There's no way around it if you want to show your art at a high level. When you want to become part of the critical discourse—to have others consider your work for venues, grants, residencies, and articles—you can't neglect writing your artist statement. Highlights My definition of an artist statement (3:00) Why you need a statement (3:40) Collecting words that contribute to your statement (6:40) Journaling prompts for your statement (8:00) Guidelines for artist statements and what tense to use (11:30) The ultimate test for a successful artist statement (15:00) How to write your first draft (16:55) What to look for (and delete) in the editing process (17:50) How and where to use your statement (22:10) What to do when instructions don't match what you've heard here (24:44) This episode is brought to you by my Art Career Success System. It's a year-long business training program designed for serious, ambitious artists. When you do the work in the courses, you'll have a strong foundation on which to build a successful art business. You will also have an artist statement you can be proud of. That's because the Art Career Success System is divided into 4 self-contained courses. In the one called Magnetic You, I walk you through a process for not only writing your artist statement, but also writing other marketing material you need and clarifying your visual branding. All of the lessons (about 40 per course) are bite-sized videos (usually under 10 minutes) that you can sneak into pockets of your busy day. If, during this pandemic, you have the time to work on your art business or if you feel it's important to make the time visit http://artcareersuccesssystem.com. I need you to be part of the conversation. I need to hear from you! Please join me on Instagram using #ArtBizNow and bookmark ArtBizNow.com as a hub for art business resources during this crisis. Follow me on Instagram @AlysonStanfield Facebook @ArtBizSuccess Join in the conversation #ArtBizNow Music for the podcast is by Wildermiss: Wildermiss.com All podcast episodes are posted at https://artbizsuccess.com/podcasts. You'll find a post with the complete transcript for this episode (#50) there. If you have enjoyed this or other podcasts, I would so appreciate it if you would leave a rating and comment on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. It really helps! Thank you for listening. I am grateful for your trust.