My Account

You control your data

We and our partners use cookies to provide you with our services and, depending on your settings, gather analytics and marketing data. Find more information on our Cookie Policy. Tap “Cookie Settings” to set preferences. To accept all cookies, click “Accept All”.

Settings Accept

Cookie settings

Click on the types of cookies below to learn more about them and customize your experience on our Site. You may freely give, refuse or withdraw your consent. Keep in mind that disabling cookies may affect your experience on the Site. For more information, please visit our Cookies Policy and Privacy Policy.

Choose type of cookies to accept

Analytics

These cookies allow us to analyze our performance to offer you a better experience of creating resumes and cover letters. Analytics related cookies used on our Site are not used by Us for the purpose of identifying who you are or to send you targeted advertising. For example, we may use cookies/tracking technologies for analytics related purposes to determine the number of visitors to our Site, identify how visitors move around the Site and, in particular, which pages they visit. This allows us to improve our Site and our services.

Performance and Personalization

These cookies give you access to a customized experience of our products. Personalization cookies are also used to deliver content, including ads, relevant to your interests on our Site and third-party sites based on how you interact with our advertisements or content as well as track the content you access (including video viewing). We may also collect password information from you when you log in, as well as computer and/or connection information. During some visits, we may use software tools to measure and collect session information, including page response times, download errors, time spent on certain pages and page interaction information.

Advertising

These cookies are placed by third-party companies to deliver targeted content based on relevant topics that are of interest to you. And allow you to better interact with social media platforms such as Facebook.

Necessary

These cookies are essential for the Site's performance and for you to be able to use its features. For example, essential cookies include: cookies dropped to provide the service, maintain your account, provide builder access, payment pages, create IDs for your documents and store your consents.

To see a detailed list of cookies, click here.

Save preferences

Artist CV: Examples & a Ready-to-Use Template (20+ Tips)

Create your CV now

You’re an artist in academia, the struggle is real. The agony of years spent grinding away to build a reputation. 

Know-nothing critics and gallery owners. Grant applications. Lecturing gigs.

But—you know your talent. Your ‘Automaton Desecrating a Fragment’ puts anything by Tracey Emin in the shade.

As for your expertise in 19th-century bronzes—it’s second to none.

After all the pain, your time to shine in academia has come.Whether you’re applying to a top University, for prestigious grants, or academic admissions, one thing links them all—

You need an artist CV to prove your academic credentials.

But—how to convey the breadth and brilliance of your abilities? This one document could make or break your academic career.

Fear not. We’ll show you an artist CV example that you can adapt to win the most prestigious academic posts. 

This guide will show you:

  • An artist CV template worthy of the Turner Prize.
  • How to write an artist’s CV that selection committees will love.
  • The best way to summarise your career and credentials on a CV for artists, with examples.
  • How to describe your experience on a curriculum vitae for artists so you can achieve your academic goals. 

Want to save time and have your CV ready in 5 minutes? Try our CV builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ CV templates and create your CV here.

Create your CV now

Artist CV made with our builder—See more CV examples here.

Here's an artist CV example made using our CV builder.

Contact Info

Mervyn Hudson

0777 777 7777

mhudson@art.com

www.mhudsonart.com

linkedin.com/mhudson_zety

twitter.com/mjhamm_zety

Profile

Art Lecturer with 11+ years of experience in facilitating learning in the fine arts focusing on contemporary artists who use digital media as a tool for photographic practice. Specialist in the communication of visual ideas through computer, digital camera and hybrid practice with a basis in photography as a medium for creating art. Active, exhibiting artist with portfolio of work available upon request. Contributed to 25% increase in BFA students taking up post-graduate studies and 20% increase in average test scores. Winner of Fine Art Photography Award 2017 in seascape category. Seeking to leverage my passion and expertise in the role of Photography Lecturer at the University of Liverpool.

Education

2008 MFA in Visual Art

University College London

Thesis Exhibition: ‘Shadows of Automation: Landscape with Metaphysical St George’

Faculty Mentor Professor Maria Velasco

2005 BFA in Visual Art, Major in Expanded Media

University College London

Graduated with first class honours

2001 Modern Languages BA

Queen Mary University London

Professional Appointments

Sep 2013–Present

Assistant Professor, University of Roehampton

Sep 2010–Aug 2013

Lecturer, University of Roehampton

Sep 2009–Aug 2010

Research Associate, University College London

Grants and Awards

2018

South East Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship for Juxtaposed Manifesto of Superficial Matter

2017

Shortlisted: Myers Foundation Visual Arts Award for Eroded Sunset on Geopoliticus Component

2016

Winner: Liston Foundation Visual Arts Award for Melancholic Response with Dimensionality

2015

Shortlisted: Winter Solstice Juried Art Exhibition, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Brighton for The Electronic Venus 

2014

American Express Cultural Heritage Grant for Work and Soul a Matter of Death

2012

Winner: Sunniest Place on Earth All Media Juried Show, Edinburgh for Still Life with Undefined Contrast

2011

Artist Grant, UK Arts Council for The Repulsive Metamorphosis - Kafka Rebooted

2009

Shortlisted: Fish and Wildlife Conservation Art Contest, National Trust, for Wild at Heart

2008

Winner: SD Arts Prize for Muse Ecstasy Reconsidered

Selected Exhibitions

2018 Two-Person ExhibitionForthright Dualities in Didactic Discourse, Cumberbatch Gallery, Liverpool (with mixed media artist Tarquin St Clair)

2017 Solo ExhibitionCraven Poet in the Distance, Venn Exhibition Space, Manchester

2016 Solo ExhibitionOde to Aesthetic Knowledge, KC Gallery, Leeds

2015 Manifesto of Metaphysical Hope, Shortland Gallery, London

2014 Solo ExhibitionThe Modern Alteration, Green Grove Gallery, London

2013 Solo ExhibitionTheme from Enslaved Disgust, Althorp Gallery, Brighton

2012 An Echo of Melancholy, Hemsworth Gallery, Edinburgh (curated by Stanislava Janáková)

2011 Two-Person ExhibitionSummation and Summation, Dry Leaves Gallery, Glasgow (with sculptor Luiza Souza)

2010 Landscape with Linear Exclusion, Manchester (curated by Corey Masterson)

2009 Solo ExhibitionApropos in Biscuit, Milton Keynes

2008 Solo ExhibitionEmbarrassed Ego Fractionated, New Masters Gallery, Milton Keynes

2007 MFA Thesis Exhibition, Spencer Museum of Art, London

Commissions

2016 Public Art Commission, Velut arbor aevo, hybrid photographic mural, Newcastle Nature Center, Newcastle

2013  Corporate Art Commission, Diente Blanco Grande, mixed media mural, Access Inc. Headquarters, Leeds

2011 Public Art Commission, Sentiment Life Fractionated, photographic mural, Croydon Town Hall, Croydon

Collections

Ashmore Collection, London

Clifton Museum, Manchester

Dennis Amenaza Collection, Birmingham

Bibliography

S. C. Siete, ‘Grayscale grandeur: Winter Photo Fair Success,’ Herald Post,

London, Feb 13, 2015. 76.

Brick Tamlyn, ‘Wilderness Photography Prize,’ Channel 4 News, July 7, 2013.

Dennis Chang, ‘Jury Prizes,’ Art Attack, May 16, 2012. http://artattack.com/archived/art-77092

Publications

‘Faulkner Envisioned: Depictions of Southern Gothic,’ The Tennessee Fine Art Digest, Tyrone Banks and Irma Watson, eds. (Knoxville, TN: Northern Tennessee University Press, 2013): 107–135.

‘Mixed Media as Literary Critique,’ New Visions, April 2012,. 86–97.

‘Vade Retro Satana - The Art of Exorcism,’ Ars Heretica, March 2011. www.arsheretica.com/contributor/mervhud/

Representation

Brutum Fulmen Gallery, London

References

Charlotte Jameson

Professor

University College London Department of Art

Gower Street 

London

WC1E 6BT

0777 777 7777

cjameson@arts.ucl.edu

Professional Service

Board of Trustees, Southwest Painters Guild, London

Professional Organizations

Visual Artists Association

National Society for Education in Art and Design

Foreign Languages

French—Fluent

This guide covers writing an artist CV for academia, but we also have a guide with more general advice for writing a CV for academic purposes.

What’s the Best Artist CV Template?

First, what’s an artist CV?

Artist CV is a record of your professional experiences and artistic achievements used to apply for juried exhibitions, grants, awards, gallery shows, commissions, and residency programs. As such, an artist CV is much more detailed and way longer than a typical CV for other types of work.

Pro Tip: As an artist in academia, you may still be asked for a ‘short CV.’ It’s limited to 3 or 4 pages in length and usually leaves out professional service and non-academic experience. You can also save space by only including ‘selected’ exhibitions and bibliography entries. More on that later.

Putting length considerations aside—

Above all, you need to keep your artist CV format simple and readable. This isn’t the time to get all avant-garde.

The first person to read your artist CV could be an academic administrator with no real art expertise. That’s why you have to make sure it’s easy to follow and understandable even by a layperson. Here’s how:

  • Start with good CV formatting. Use white space to improve readability and highlight each section of your CV. 
  • For your CV font, go for a simple sans serif like Calibri. It’s modern, readable, and renders on most systems.
  • For the CV file format, use PDF. It won’t mess up your careful formatting. But, some employers and institutions will insist you don’t use PDF. Be prepared and save a copy of your artist CV in another format like DOCX.

And what exactly to include in your artist CV?

Artist CV Template

Include the following sections in your CV for artists:

  1. Contact Information
  2. (Optional) CV profile
  3. Education
  4. Professional appointments
  5. Grants and awards
  6. Exhibitions
  7. Commissions
  8. Collections
  9. Bibliography
  10. Publications as author
  11. Representation
  12. References
  13. Additional sections (including non-academic experience, professional service, and professional organizations)

Less experienced artists might not need all of these sections. Also, feel free to skip any section that isn’t relevant to you.

The order isn’t written in stone either. As a rule, put the most impressive artistic achievements first. Here’s an example: if you have an amazing and prestigious bibliography but limited awards, feel free to swap them around.

So you’ve just seen the full list of the necessary sections for your artist CV. Now, let’s show you how to write each section to highlight your artistic achievements and skills:

1. Contact Information

It’s so obvious that it’s easy to forget. So make sure you include full contact information.

In your artist CV contact information section include:

  • Full name
  • Professional title and affiliation
  • Institutional address (if writing for academic purposes and you already hold a post)
  • Your home address
  • Email
  • Telephone number
  • LinkedIn profile (optional)

Now that’s covered we can move on to the all important content of your artist curriculum vitae.

2. Optional CV Profile

This point is as controversial as Andres Serrano.

For a standard CV for a jobbing artist we’d say, yes absolutely include a profile. 

For an academic artist CV though, a profile is not always 100% in line with academic standards. The College Art Association’s guidance doesn’t specify that you include a profile but neither does it advise against using one. It’s a grey area.

In certain situations we’d still recommend using one. In particular, when you’re applying for a straightforward academic job like a lecturer. Including a profile statement on your CV for artists will give it that extra little bit of flair and set you apart from the competition. So get drafting!

And bear in mind that:

  • Your artist CV profile should be a summary of the CV that follows. Use it to catch the reader’s eye and keep them reading.
  • You need to tailor it to the particular institution and job you’re applying for. No copy-paste laziness here!

In this artist CV sample profile we’ll discuss a profile written for a lecturer role:

Artist CV Example—Profile

RIGHT

Art Lecturer with 11+ years of experience in facilitating learning in the fine arts focusing on contemporary artists who use digital media as a tool for photographic practice. Specialist in the communication of visual ideas through computer, digital camera and hybrid practice with a basis in photography as a medium for creating art. Active, exhibiting artist with portfolio of work available upon request. Contributed to 25% increase in BFA students taking up post-graduate studies and 20% increase in average test scores. Winner of Fine Art Photography Award 2017 in seascape category. Seeking to leverage my passion and expertise in the role of Photography Lecturer at the University of Liverpool.

WRONG

Experienced Art Lecturer seeking role as Photography Lecturer at the University of Liverpool. Accomplished professional photographer looking to inspire the next generation. Good interpersonal skills and talent for promoting creativity and open-mindedness in an academic setting.

The first artist CV profile is laser focused on a specific role. It details the applicant’s area of speciality and emphasizes their status as an active artist. It also includes performance metrics and mentions winning a prestigious award.

The second? Lots of colour, but no detail. There’s minimal effort in targeting the role and selling the applicant.

Discover more tips and tricks for writing a great opening statement in our guide: How to Write a CV Personal Profile

When making a CV in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your CV here.

When you’re done, Zety’s CV builder will score your CV and tell you exactly how to make it better.

3. Education

You’re targeting academia. Think Claude Monet, not a cheesy Thomas Kinkade.

Here’s how to do it right.

Start off by making a list of your degrees and arrange them in reverse chronological order (most recent first, followed by the one previous to it and so on.)

Include:

  • Year of completion or expected completion if still pursuing
  • Degree type
  • Department and institution
  • Honours, but only if they’re a first or a 2:1
  • Dissertation/Thesis title and advisor

Here’s a sample:

Artist CV Example—Education Section

2008 MFA in Visual Art

University College London

Thesis Exhibition: ‘Shadows of Automation: Landscape with Metaphysical St George’

Faculty Mentor Professor Maria Velasco

2005 BFA in Visual Art, Major in Expanded Media

University College London

Graduated with first class honours

2001 Modern Languages BA

Queen Mary University London

Why include the BA in French when it’s a non-fine arts degree? Well, in a CV it pays to include all your education. This artist CV example could show you’d be a prime candidate to assist with a study abroad programme. 

It’s these extras that make or break your chances in the hyper-competitive field of academia.

4. Professional Appointments

In this section of your artist CV you have to list your teaching, academic, and related work experience. Again, follow the reverse-chronological format as you did in your education section.

Unlike a standard CV, this section in an artist’s CV is a simple list of academic positions you have held so far. Start with dates, followed by your position and finish with institution and location.

Use a table to separate dates from the remaining information. It helps to make the formatting of your artist CV clearer.

Pro Tip: Be precise with your academic title. There are important differences between associate professor, assistant professor, lecturer and so on. If the school doesn’t use ranks and distinctions, you can use ‘faculty’ instead.

Artist CV Example—Professional Experience

Sep 2013–Present 
Assistant Professor, University of Roehampton

Sep 2010–Aug 2013 
Lecturer, University of Roehampton

Sep 2009–Aug 2010
Research Associate, University College London

But don’t include your non-academic work experience here. In artist CVs, it is covered in a separate section. 

5. Grants and Awards

Now is not the time to be shy.

Anyone can claim to produce great art but few are recognized as great artists. 

Whatever the purpose of your artist CV—academia, juried exhibitions, gallery shows, commissions, or residency programs—it pays to list the accolades you’ve received.

The greater your achievements, the more your artist CV will stand out from the competition.

Important:

Don’t forget to include short listings as well as prizes you’ve won. A short listing is still a prestigious acknowledgment of your artistic talents.

Again, make use of formatting to improve clarity. Use italics for the title of the piece or exhibition like on the artist CV sample below:

Artist CV Example—Grants and Awards

  • 2018 - South East Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship for Juxtaposed Manifesto of Superficial Matter
  • 2017 - Shortlisted: Myers Foundation Visual Arts Award for Eroded Sunset on Geopoliticus Component
  • 2016 - Winner: Liston Foundation Visual Arts Award for Melancholic Response with Dimensionality
  • 2015 - Shortlisted: Winter Solstice Juried Art Exhibition, Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Brighton for The Electronic Venus 
  • 2014 - American Express Cultural Heritage Grant for Work and Soul a Matter of Death
  • 2012 - Winner: Sunniest Place on Earth All Media Juried Show, Edinburgh for Still Life with Undefined Contrast

Pro Tip: Take time and list your grants and awards. Keep a master list and add to it every time you receive a new accolade. This will make your life (and artist CV writing) easier. 

Time for another key section of your CV for artists.

6. Exhibitions

This section of your artist CV is of paramount importance. If you had an academic career in literature, you’d use this section for your publication record. It’s that big.

Follow our lead below:

  • Format as a table for neat layout. 
  • Start with the year, no month or date required.
  • List type of exhibition, name of exhibition, venue and location. 
  • Add any other relevant info if necessary.

Once again, the key here is to keep it simple and readable. Artists earlier on in their career may wish to use one heading—‘Exhibitions.’ 

Those with more extensive experience may wish to divide this section of their artist CVs into subheadings. We'd suggest ‘Solo Exhibitions,’ ‘Group Exhibitions’, etc.

Use clear and consistent formatting and italicise exhibition titles. Here’s an example for your CV for artists:

Artist CV Example—Exhibitions

RIGHT
  • 2018 - Two-Person ExhibitionForthright Dualities in Didactic Discourse, Cumberbatch Gallery, Liverpool (with mixed media artist Tarquin St Clair)
  • 2017 - Solo ExhibitionCraven Poet in the Distance, Venn Exhibition Space, Manchester
  • 2016 - Solo Exhibition, Ode to Aesthetic Knowledge, KC Gallery, Leeds
  • 2015 - Manifesto of Metaphysical Hope, Shortland Gallery, London
  • 2014 - Solo ExhibitionThe Modern Alteration, Green Grove Gallery, London
  • 2013 - Solo ExhibitionTheme from Enslaved Disgust, Althorp Gallery, Brighton

If your record of exhibitions is more impressive than your awards list, then definitely put this section first. It carries a lot of weight. 

Pro Tip: More experienced artists should be selective and choose the most important exhibitions in your career. Do so by using the word ‘selected’ to preface your heading. Also, note that adjudicated or refereed exhibitions hold more weight with academic administrators. Be sure to include these.

7. Commissions

If applicable, include a commissions section in your artist CV. A commission from a government body, large corporation or notable individual will add more threads to the rich tapestry of your artistic career.

For very accomplished artists it may be useful to divide these into sub-categories: public, private and corporate.

Here’s an example—again, take note of the formatting:

Artist CV Example—Commissions

  • 2016 - Public Art Commission, Velut arbor aevo, hybrid photographic mural, Newcastle Nature Center, Newcastle
  • 2013 - Corporate Art Commission, Diente Blanco Grande, mixed media mural, Access Inc. Headquarters, Leeds
  • 2011 - Public Art Commission, Sentiment Life Fractionated, photographic mural, Croydon Town Hall, Croydon


 
8. Collections

If your work is part of a collection then you should include a separate section on your artist CV to note this.

Again, if your list is long, feel free to use sub-headings. As with commissions, private, public and corporate are a good start.

However, the formatting here is slightly different. You don’t need to use the reverse chronological format as with the preceding sections.

Instead, list the collector, city, and state, and arrange these in alphabetical order.

Artist CV Example—Collections

  • Ashmore Collection, London
  • Clifton Museum, Manchester
  • Dennis Amenaza Collection, Birmingham

9. Bibliography

In an artist CV, a bibliography is a list of mentions of you and your work published in print or the media.

This includes publications in traditional academic journals, newspapers, magazines, television, Internet and radio, as well as published photos of your works.

When citing online sources make sure you insert the link into your text. Always make sure it’s clickable and the page is still live.

Keep readability in mind. It’s best to stick to reverse chronological order here, too. Also, place the first name of the author before the last name. It scans better.

Artist CV Sample—Bibliography

  • S. C. Siete, ‘Grayscale grandeur: Winter Photo Fair Success,’ Herald Post,
  • London, Feb 13, 2015. 76.
  • Brick Tamlyn, ‘Wilderness Photography Prize,’ Channel 4 News, July 7, 2013.
  • Dennis Chang, ‘Jury Prizes,’ Art Attack, May 16, 2012. http://artattack.com/archived/art-77092

10. Publications as Author

This artist CV section focuses on published material that you’ve authored. For an academic artist CV template, this helps to cement your subject matter expertise.

Include reviews, essays, journals and blogs and, again, use the reverse chronological order. Also, don’t forget to insert links where appropriate.

Artist CV—Publications

  • ‘Faulkner Envisioned: Depictions of Southern Gothic,’ The Tennessee Fine Art Digest, Tyrone Banks and Irma Watson, eds. (Knoxville, TN: Northern Tennessee University Press, 2013): 107–135.
  • ‘Mixed Media as Literary Critique,’ New Visions, April 2012,. 86–97.
  • ‘Vade Retro Satana - The Art of Exorcism,’ Ars Heretica, March 2011. www.arsheretica.com/contributor/mervhud/

11. Representation

This will only be relevant to the most experienced artists. If you do have representation, also known as gallery affiliation, then include it as a separate section of your artist CV.

You just need the gallery name and location:

Artist CV Example—Representation

Brutum Fulmen Gallery, London

12. References

You’ll know the person by the company they keep. In the art world, this parable is ever more true.

Aim to list between three and five people who can serve as professional references if needed. Choose a mix of supervisors, instructors and mentors from your studies and your employers. 

Make sure they’re happy to be used as a reference and make sure they’re going to give positive feedback on you as an artist.

When listing references on your artist CV, you should include their:

  • Full name
  • Title/position
  • Work address
  • Telephone number
  • Email address

See the example:

Artist CV Example—References 

Charlotte Jameson

Professor

University College London Department of Art

Gower Street 

London

WC1E 6BT

0777 777 7777

cjameson@arts.ucl.edu

13. Additional Sections

So, by now we’ve added the final brushstroke right? 

Not necessarily. 

There are other sections you can add to transform your artist CV into a true masterpiece.

Non-Academic Experience on Artist CV

This section is useful for recent graduates with limited artistic experience. If you have work or art-related experience that you feel is relevant then list them here.

Think art internships or volunteer work. Use the same style we showed you for professional experience.

Professional Service on Artist CV

For some schools, evidence of community service is a must. If you serve on a board, sit on a committee, consult for projects or volunteer for events this is the place to put it.

For formatting, go for year, your title, organization, city and state. Here’s a brief example:

  • 2005–2009 Board of Trustees, Southwest Painters Guild, London

Professional Organizations on Artist CV

Mention the art bodies you’re a member of. List them alphabetically.

For example:

  • Visual Artists Association
  • National Society for Education in Art and Design

There are other additional sections you may wish to add to your artist curriculum vitae. Think of this as a bespoke commission. It will vary depending on your own unique skill set and experience.

Here are some suggestions for additional sections on an artist CV:

  • Technical abilities
  • Consultancies
  • Exhibitions juried and/or curated
  • Foreign languages
  • Gallery affiliations

For more ideas about what to add, check out our expert guide: What to Include in a CV: Must-Have CV Sections

Key Takeaway

The arts are a highly competitive discipline. So there’s no room for complacency when writing an artist CV.

Make your artist’s CV a masterpiece with these tips:

  • Use clear and consistent structure and formatting.
  • If you’re applying for a lecturing job, write an artist CV profile to set you apart from the outset.
  • Regardless of whether your artist CV is for an academic post, grant program, residence or exhibition you need to let your talent shine. Do it right by listing your awards, exhibitions, commissions, collections and bibliography.
  • Show off your artistic credentials with a polished list of publications.
  • Add the finishing touch with relevant additional artist CV sections that showcase the entirety of your talent.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your CV will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Got more questions about our artist CV example and guide? Not sure if a specific additional section is worth including? Let us know in the comments section and we’ll give you the answers. Thanks for reading.

About Zety’s Editorial Process

Our editorial team has thoroughly reviewed this article to ensure it follows Zety’s editorial guidelines. Our dedication lies in sharing our expertise and providing you with actionable career advice that offers you real value. Every year, the quality of our content attracts 40 million readers to our site. But that’s not all – we conduct original research to gain a detailed understanding of the labour market. We take pride in being cited by top universities and leading media outlets in the UK and worldwide.

Rate my article: artist cv example
Article Helpfulness: 5 (4 votes)
Thank you for voting
Jacques Buffett, CPRW
Jacques, a Certified Professional Résumé Writer (CPRW), is a career expert who has published almost 200 articles on Zety. His insights and advice have been published by LinkedIn, Forbes, MSN, Yahoo!, Business Insider, AOL, U.S. News, and other top news outlets. He also has extensive professional experience in people management and recruitment.
Linkedin

Similar articles