How to write an artist statement

Course description

You are struggling with your artist statement, or you want to improve the one you have? If so, this course is for you. To deepen our understanding of what makes an artist statement successful, we spoke with jury members, funders, artists, writers and curators. Based on our findings from these discussions, we developed this course. It serves as a step-by-step-guide which will give you all the tools you need to write a strong artist statement.

What you will learn

  • How to write an impactful artist statement
  • How to structure and edit your statement
  • The key questions your statement needs to answer
  • What you need to address for the final round of the jury process
  • How long should your statement be
  • How a great artist statement should look like
  • How to adapt your statement to its audience
  • How to create an elevator pitch

Specifications

  • 35-minutes video course in 18 chapters
  • Audio in English
  • Subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese
  • Unlimited access to your online course
  • For artists of all levels

Course plan (scroll down)

18 Chapters - 35 min

1. What is an artist statement?

2. Why do you need an artist statement?

3. Positive aspects of writing an artist statement

4. A basis for further writings

5. Don‘t get intimidated

6. Brainstorming

7. Questions

8. Length

9. Actual writing – step-by-step

9.1 Introduction

9.2. Main body

9.3. Conclusion

10. Editing

11. Flow

12. Adapt your statement to the audience

13. Shortening your statement

14. Elevator pitch

15. Corrections

16. Layout

17. Feedback

18. Final notes

About your tutor

Jordie Oetken is a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Her work employs scale, lighting, and strategies of containment to maintain a continuous tension, asking the viewer to oscillate between their desire for clarification and the ambiguous narrative power of the image.

Oetken’s work has recently been exhibited at No Moon LA, Praz-Delavallade, and Tiger Strikes Astroid Los Angeles. She has instructed at the UCLA Summer Art Institute, the CalArts CSSA program, and assisted in the instruction of various advanced photography and theory courses at UCLA. Oetken has held residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, MacDowell, Lighthouse Works, Vermont Studio Center, and the Yale/Norfolk School of Art.

course tutor image

Bundle of Four Online Courses:

  • How to apply for art residencies
  • How to write an artist statement
  • How to apply for art project grants
  • How to make an art portfolio