Writing an Engaging Artist Bio

An artist bio is a short text that tells the reader about who you are as an artist or creative and some of your key achievements. As your creative career progresses, you will be regularly asked to provide a bio when applying for opportunities, working on public projects, writing articles or participating in exhibitions or shows. As such, it is worth spending the time to craft a strong and engaging bio that you will use again and again. Below are some tips to get you started.

What goes in?

Your artist bio should cover the basic information a reader might like to know about you and your work:

• Where you live (just the city or general area, not your address!)
• What kind of creative work you make
• What inspires you, or what interests and ideas you like to explore through your art

You might also like to tell them about:

• Any relevant creative education
• Who you’ve worked with before, such as galleries you’ve shown at or publications you’ve written for
• Any relevant awards, residencies or achievements
• A part of your broader identity that influences the kind of creative work you make, such as your cultural heritage 
• The year you were born

It is helpful to read the bios of other artists and creatives to see what they have decided to include. Look at the websites of artists you admire or who have worked with galleries and arts organisations you’re interested in. You can also often see lots of bios in one hit by viewing the program of creative festivals, particularly speaking events and conferences.

How long?

It’s great to have a few different versions of your bio at different word lengths: a short, one sentence bio for social media, a 50 - 100 word bio for general use, and something a little longer for the ‘about’ page of your website. However, if writing multiple versions feels overwhelming, a 50 - 100 word bio will be the most useful and versatile option.

Style

In general, your artist bio should be written in third person (using your name rather than saying ‘I’ and ‘my’). This is because your artist bio should be a text that can be published as is on other platforms, such as in an arts program or media release. You might like to use first-person (saying ‘I’ and ‘my’) on your website to make it feel more familiar and friendly.

Try to keep your writing style clear and accessible to suit a broad range of audiences. Avoid using words that are highly academic or jargon-y.

Edit and Update

Make sure you take the time to edit and proofread your bio. Give it to someone else to read and provide feedback. Ask them if they found anything confusing or if they have any questions.

Just like a CV, your artist bio is a living document. Make sure you update it once or twice a year to include new achievements and ensure it is relevant to your current practice.