Artists are good at showcasing their skills through painting, crafts, artifacts, etc. They can dramatically turn a bleak canvas to something that is pleasing to the eye.

However, when you are targeting a profile that has positioned a recruiter in the way. The only way you can convey your skills is through a resume.

This may dishearten you, considering the amount of time you have spent perfecting your skills. However, you should not worry. Writing a resume is not that difficult when you master a few tips.

And to help you with that, we recommend the following 5 tips to create an impressive artist resume:

Create a professional experience section

If you want to change the outlook of your resume, this section needs to be exceptionally great in your artist resume.

This section should contain all your work profiles with important information.

Whether you worked for a private collector or you exhibited your art at a well-received venue. The idea is to display your skills in a manner that illustrates your accomplishments to the recruiter.

Here is how you can do that:

  • Highlight your skills: Apart from bolding key information, a great way to highlight your skills is by creating buckets for a few relevant points. These subheadings should be functional, for example, “Logo Designing & Image Development”, etc.
  • Curate action-oriented statements: Listing your role and responsibilities is not the correct way of writing points in your resume. Use a STAR (situation-task-action-result) approach to bring forth your contributions effectively.
  • Correct usage of verbs: Use action verbs to write points in your resume, and use the correct form of the verb with respect to the work profile. For example, use present participle for current profiles and use past everywhere else.

Correctly write exhibitions

Exhibitions are a great way to showcase your skills to the recruiter whether you are targeting a job profile, residency, or scholarship. As an artist exhibition records can work as a conduit to showcase your work in the real world.

And here is how you can correctly format them:

Two-person Exhibition | Artists in the era of millennials | Jamie Jones Arts Faculty | Sep ‘19

Solo Exhibition | Trail of socialism | Al Gore Art Exhibition | Dec ‘19

Write a professional summary

As your resume summary is the first thing that the recruiter notices, it is important to optimize it so that it delivers the necessary information.

For an artist, your summary should highlight the values you uphold and what you bring to the table.

After reading your summary, the recruiter should be convinced that your resume is relevant to the target profile.

Check the example of a stellar summary for an artist:

3+ years experienced Design Artist with a proven track record of developing user interface and murals. Proficient in liaising with artists to streamline a group exhibition project, and maintaining relationships with galleries to acquire arts for private collectors.

Tip: If you are an aspiring artist with no professional experience then you should write an objective statement.

Include an education section

Outlining the academic journey, this section is increasingly becoming important for artists. Especially if the modules of the degree/certification you hold are relevant to the target profile.

Hence, apart from listing your degrees in reverse chronological order, you should have points and modules that showcase your expertise and accomplishments.

For example:

Bachelors in Fine Arts | Boston University | Boston, Massachusetts | Mar ‘15 – Apr ‘20

  • Secured a grant of USD 6500 to design a mural for the university library
  • Acquired expertise in creating logos and animations

Cover achievement-based sections

As a resume is achievements based, it becomes important that your resume encompasses all the aspects of your accomplishments.

Hence, there are a few sections that are highly critical for an artist’s resume.

  • Collection: Include collections and gallery affiliations in your resume. Further, if your collection is owned by a private entity, you need to ask for their permission before writing it in your resume.
  • Grants & scholarships: As grants and scholarships make up for almost all quantified achievements in an artist’s resume. It is important to include these along with the amount you received.
  • Residencies: Mention your artist-in-residence programs as they showcase your creative skills.

Conclusion

Make sure your resume is restricted to 1 or 2 pages. Include links for digital platforms such as Instagram, if you think it would add value to your resume. Do not sideline the value of a portfolio, it is equally important for your profile.

Author

Northern girl Laura is the epitome of a true entrepreneur. Laura’s spirit for adventure and passion for people blaze through House of Coco. She founded House of Coco in 2014 and has grown it in to an internationally recognised brand whilst having a lot of fun along the way. Travel is in her DNA and she is a true visionary and a global citizen.

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