Another year will behind you soon. No matter what you experienced there are always valuable take aways and lessons to be learned. When it comes to your fine art take some time to reflect on how much you accomplished in the past year. This is personal to you and your creative journey.
Maybe you had your first solo exhibition or you dedicated a space in your home for creating. Whatever it is, take a moment to acknowledge the big and the small achievements you made.
Reflecting on the past is good to see what is working and not working for you. It also allows you to reevaluate your artistic goals.
Now that you have taken some time to do that, let’s get to work!
The more organized you are with the “business” side of being an artist the more prepared you will be for when opportunities arise.
Here are my top five tips to work on now so 2023 will be your best year yet!
Review your artist biography. Did you move? Did you have your work published? Receive a grant or have your first solo exhibition? Update your bio with your biggest accomplishments and keep it current with your location.
Rewrite your artist statement. Your artist statement should be reviewed and revised as often as you can. As artists we are constantly evolving and having new experiences that shape us and our artwork. Make sure your statement is easy to understand and describes your artist process and inspiration.
Update your CV (Curriculum vitae). I prefer to call it your artist resume. Your artist resume is all about your art accomplishments listed by year. Make sure you update it with any group exhibitions you participated in, solo shows, grants, artist residency, workshops attended, memberships etc.
Have your artwork photographed professionally. Not with your iPhone! I’m referring to high quality professional images of your work. Hire someone who has experience photographing artwork as not all photographers do. These images are used for your inventory/cataloging, documentation, your website, social media, submitting to call for arts, reproductions and more.
Inventory time. Yes I know, yuck. Artists do not enjoy this part but it’s important. You need to know how much work you have on hand, where it’s at and what has sold. An easy way to do all this is to use Artwork Archive. They allow you to track your work and enter all the important information such as size, price, medium, and more. We have a special discount for the platform for members of Art Connective, you can find member options here on our website.
This can be overwhelming so break it down and do a little each day starting with the first one or pick one day a week that is dedicated to working on getting everything organized.
Remember it is ok to seek help to work on all of this. Often having an outside source review these for you provides more help then if you are tackling it on your own. At the Art Connective, I offer workshops and one on one portfolio reviews that help you see what needs to be adjusted. Follow us on instagram for tips and advice as well!
Wishing you a successful 2023!
You got this:)
Alexis - Artist & President of Art Connective. A non profit art org dedicated to helping artists succeed thru opportunities, learning and exhibiting. Want to help us continue doing what we do? Donate today to our mission.