Writing Your Bio


Your bio should be a one- to two-page list of your exhibitions and related activities. Heading categories can include the following: • solo exhibitions • group exhibitions • juried exhibitions • publications • collections • commissions • public art • awards • education • memberships/affiliations • representation • birth place and date • anything else you feel is important

You should always list the most important first (usually "selected solo exhibitions"). Under each category, list your activities in reverse chronological order, your most recent activity first. Each listing should include the name of the gallery/museum, location (city, state, country, if necessary), title of the exhibition, and exhibition dates.

If your just starting out in your artistic career or you're not as active as you would like to be yet, you'll have to modify the standard form to fit your exhibition history. The general point of your bio is to highlight your exhibition record. Your career should look professional. It should show that your are dedicated to your art, that you are committed for the long term career, and that your work is in demand. If your exhibition history is lacking, you should find other areas of your career that can show your professionalism as an artist.

Here's a sample format:

Your Name

Address

Phone and Fax

Email

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Museum of Modern Art, New York, January 2000 Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of Art, New York, Summer 1999

Selected Group Exhibitions

"Art Art Art!," Tate Gallery, London, February 1999 "A Retrospective," Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, September 1998 Art Institute of Chicago, July - August 1997

Selected Publications

New York Times, "The Best Art Today," February 13, 1999 Art in America magazine, cover article, October 1998

Grants and Awards

National Endowment for the Arts, Artist Fellowship 1999 Guggenheim Artist Fellowship, 1997

Representation

So-and-so Gallery, 1 East 64th Street, New York 10000 Someone Else's Gallery 666 N. La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles 90036

Education

Master of Fine Arts, Yale University, 1992 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, 1990

Memberships

Society of Artists, New York 1998 to present

Born

Santiago, Chile; April 1, 1968

© 2000 Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee

The copyright of the article Writing Your Bio in Resources for Artists is owned by Cecilia H. Lee. Permission to republish Writing Your Bio in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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