An artist’s Curriculum Vitae, or CV, is a comprehensive record of their professional career and achievements. It serves as an objective, factual summary of an artist’s professional life, distinct from marketing materials or personal statements. Maintaining an updated CV is a standard professional practice that ensures an artist is prepared for new opportunities.
How an Artist CV Differs from a Resume
An artist CV differs from a standard resume in its purpose, length, and content. A resume is a brief marketing tool, usually limited to one page, tailored to a specific job by highlighting relevant skills. In contrast, an artist CV is an exhaustive, factual archive of an artist’s entire professional history with no strict page limit, growing as their career progresses.
The content focuses entirely on an artist’s professional practice, including categories like exhibitions, awards, and publications, rather than skills for a “day job.” A CV is not customized for each application but stands as a complete record for academic, curatorial, or grant-related purposes. An artist might maintain both a CV for their art and a separate resume for other employment.
Key Sections of an Artist CV
Contact Information
This section appears at the top of the first page. Include your full name, a professional email address, and a link to your artist website or online portfolio. A studio phone number is optional.
Education
List your formal academic qualifications in reverse chronological order. Include the institution’s name, the degree earned, your area of specialization, and the graduation year. Non-degree programs or workshops can be listed after your formal degrees.
Exhibitions
This section is subdivided into “Solo Exhibitions” and “Group Exhibitions,” listed in reverse chronological order. For each entry, include the year, the exhibition title in italics, the gallery or venue name, and its city and state. Artists in time-based media may title this section “Exhibitions/Screenings.”
As your career progresses and your exhibition list grows, you might create “Selected Solo Exhibitions” and “Selected Group Exhibitions” categories. This allows you to highlight the most significant shows without overwhelming the reader, presenting a clear history of where your work has been publicly displayed.
Awards, Grants, and Residencies
List any awards, fellowships, grants, or artist residencies you have completed. For each entry, include the year it was received, the name of the award or residency program, and the granting institution or organization. This information provides evidence of peer recognition and professional validation of your practice.
Bibliography and Press
This section records where your work has been written about or featured, including reviews, articles, and catalog essays. Use a consistent citation format for each entry, including the author, article title, publication name, and date. For online features, including a direct link is helpful.
Collections
List the public, corporate, or notable private collections that have acquired your work, separated into subcategories like “Public Collections.” This demonstrates that your work has been purchased for permanent display. Always seek permission before listing the names of private collectors.
Related Professional Experience
This category includes art-related professional activities beyond exhibitions or awards. Examples include teaching positions, guest lectures, curatorial projects, panel discussions, or work as a visiting artist. Be sure to distinguish this from non-art-related work history, which should not be included.
Formatting an Artist CV
The presentation of your artist CV should prioritize clarity and professionalism over creative design. Avoid decorative fonts, colors, or images that distract from the information. Choose a standard, legible font like Times New Roman or Arial in a 10 to 12-point size.
Ensure there is ample white space with consistent margins of at least one inch. Formatting details like bolding, italics, and date placement should be uniform throughout the document to reflect your professionalism.
Save and distribute your CV as a PDF file to preserve the formatting across different devices. Number the pages, especially if the CV is longer than one page.
When to Use an Artist CV
An artist CV is a standard requirement when applying for grants, fellowships, and artist residency programs. Juries for these opportunities rely on the CV to assess an artist’s professional history and eligibility.
Galleries and museums will request a CV for exhibition proposals or when a curator is considering your work for a show. Journalists and critics also use your CV to gather background information for articles or reviews.
The CV is also required when applying for academic teaching positions or promotions. In these contexts, the document provides a comprehensive overview of your artistic and scholarly achievements.