How to write an artist CV
An artist CV is not a résumé. It lists what you have shown, where, and when, in a form galleries, curators and open calls all expect. It is read quickly, so the format matters as much as the content.
The usual sections, in order
- Name, and where you live and work. "Born 1984, Denver. Lives and works in Brooklyn."
- Education. Degrees and residencies, most recent first.
- Solo exhibitions.
- Group exhibitions.
- Awards, grants and residencies.
- Bibliography or press.
- Collections. Public and corporate collections that hold your work.
Leave out any section you have nothing for. An empty heading reads worse than no heading.
How each line is written
Most recent first, within each section. One line per entry:
Year. Title of the show, Venue, City.
Put the show title in italics. Do not explain what the show was about; that belongs in a statement, not a CV.
Keep two versions
A full CV with everything, and a selected CV of one page for applications that ask for one. The selected version keeps the strongest and most recent entries.
Keep it current
Add each show the week it opens, not the night before a deadline. Dates, venue names and titles are hardest to recover years later.
Doing it in Studio Archive Pro
Studio Archive Pro keeps your exhibitions, awards and residencies as records, and writes your CV from them as a PDF in the plain style above, or as text to paste anywhere. Exhibitions link to the works that were in them. For Mac, iPad and iPhone. Free for a month, then $29.99 once.