Artist Resume Template & Examples for 2024

Artist resume template (text format)

Start by choosing the best resume format for you.

Copy-and-paste text format

FIRST AND LAST NAME

Email: your.email@email.com

Phone: (123) 456-7891

Address: Street, City, State

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yourprofile

RESUME SUMMARY

Innovative artist with MFA and experience participating in 5 exhibitions. Commissioned by the City Arts Council to produce a prominent downtown mural. Recipient of the Visionary Award at the 2021 Annual Taos Fall Arts Festival. Seeking to showcase latest painting series at the Sage Fine Arts Gallery.

EXHIBITIONS

[Year] | [Exhibition Type], [Exhibition Name 1], [Gallery Name], [Location]
[Year] | [Exhibition Type], [Exhibition Name 2], [Gallery Name], [Location]
[Year] | [Exhibition Type], [Exhibition Name 3], [Gallery Name], [Location]

COMMISSIONS

Year | Commissioning Entity], [Artwork 1], [Scale], [Method], [Location]
Year | Commissioning Entity], [Artwork 2], [Scale], [Method], [Location]
Year | Commissioning Entity], [Artwork 3], [Scale], [Method], [Location]

[WORK/RELEVANT] EXPERIENCE

Current Job Title (e.g., Graphic Artist)
Company/Gallery/Organization, City, State
Month 20XX–Present

• Include a bulleted list of your achievements as a graphic artist
• Start each bullet point with an action verb (like “create” or “design”) to grab attention
• Use the present tense for your current role, unless describing a completed project or initiative
• Use hard numbers when possible to quantify your accomplishments as an artist
• Mention how you’ve used some of the artist skills listed in your skills section to demonstrate your mastery of these abilities

Previous Job Title (e.g., Graphic Designer)
Company/Organization Name, City, State
Month 20XX–Month 20XX

• List relevant accomplishments from your previous role as a graphic designer
• Assuming you’re no longer working in this graphic design role, use past tense verbs to describe your work
• Include 3–6 bullet points for each role, both your current one and previous ones
• Skip the pronoun “I” and begin directly with a verb
• Although you’ll usually list work experience, feel free to include artist-relevant internships or projects, as well as any volunteer work and extracurricular activities if you lack formal work experience

AWARDS

[Year] | [Name of award 1]
[Year] | [Name of award 2]

SKILLS & CERTIFICATIONS

• List skills and certifications relevant to the artist job you’re applying for
• Look at the job description for ideas of the skills the employer wants
• Emphasize hard skills and technical skills in this section
• Be as specific as possible by including names of tools, equipment, techniques, and software you’ve mastered that are used in your artistic field

OPTIONAL RESUME SECTIONS

• Add any other relevant information about your background here
• For example, a separate section could be used to highlight collections, residencies, or publications

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Artist resumes by experience level

Here are tailored resume examples for artists at different stages of their careers:

Artist resume with no experience

If you have no formal work experience, here’s an example of a well-written resume you can base yours on:

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Example highlights

• Exhibitions: While they lack work experience, this applicant has had their artwork featured in a graduate exhibition as well as an exhibition for emerging artists.
• Internship: By including internships on their artist resume, the applicant shows employers that they’ve used their skills in a professional setting.

Experienced artist resume

When applying for senior artist positions, write a resume like this:

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Example highlights

• Advanced degree: The applicant lists a master’s degree in art conservation, which is highly relevant to their target job at the museum.
• Website URL: By including the URL of their online portfolio in the contact information section, they give the employer an easy way to access examples of their previous work.

Artist resume samples by type

Looking for a specific type of artist resume? Take a look at these examples:

3D artist resume

This 3D artist resume highlights specific hard skills and experience essential for this type of artist:

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Example highlight

• Technical skills: Soft skills are less important than hard skills for a 3D artist, which is why this applicant focuses on showing off their many technical skills in the skills section of this resume.

Animation artist resume

Writing an animation resume? Use this example for inspiration:

Download This Free Template

Example highlight

• Skills bars: When you want to demonstrate your level of proficiency with various skills, use a resume template with skill bars, like this one. It’s a good way to give employers a better idea of your abilities.

Freelance artist resume

Demonstrate your freelance achievements on your resume like this:

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Example highlight

• Highlights soft skills: It’s important for freelance artists to effectively communicate with a diverse range of clients. So, in this candidate’s resume bullet points, they focus on their collaboration skills and responsiveness to feedback.

Average artist salaries in the US

The following table includes information from O*NET Resource Center by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. The data is presented based on the top states in the USA.

How to write an artist resume

Whether you’re applying for exhibitions, artist residencies, or art gallery positions, our tips will help you get a handle on best practices and show you how to highlight your relevant experience and expertise in a way that is sure to impress any curator or juror.

1. Decide whether to use an artist resume or CV

While in other industries the difference between using resumes or CVs is pretty cut and dry, it gets more complicated when you’re an artist.

An artist resume should be used when applying to professional venues such as museums, galleries, or art centers, as well as for opportunities like exhibitions, residencies, and proposals.

An artist resume should:

• Be 1 page in length
• Highlight details of your relevant experience, like exhibitions, residencies, or publications

An artist CV, on the other hand, should be used when applying to an academic artist position. A CV is a much longer, more comprehensive document that should include all of your work experience. The only other time you should submit an artist CV is if it is specifically requested in a job posting.

2. Start off with a convincing resume summary

To make a strong first impression, start off with a resume summary that summarizes your experience as an artist, your most notable achievements, and your top skills.

Here are three examples of strong artist resume summaries:

3. Format your resume correctly

A resume for an artist differs from a standard resume as it should also include any exhibitions, awards, publications, or other notable artistic achievements.

Here are examples showing how to format each category on your artist resume:

Exhibitions

To list exhibitions on your resume, include the date, type of exhibition, title of the exhibition, gallery name, and location, like this:

If you have several different exhibitions to list, you can omit the type of exhibition and instead list them under subheadings for solo exhibitions, collaborations, or group exhibitions.

Make sure to list any collaborators, curators, or jurors (these can go in parenthesis at the end).

Awards

Include the year the award was received, the name of the award, the name of the entity granting the award, and the location. Here’s an example:

Residencies

To list an artist residency on your resume, include the year, the program, and the location.

Residencies can be listed along with any awards and fellowships.

Publications

You can list publications using CMOS formatting. The only difference is that you will list the publications chronologically rather than alphabetically, so it’s preferred to use the author’s first name before their last name.

List the author’s name, the title of the piece, the publication title and issue, and the date, like this:

Commissions

If you were commissioned to create a piece of art for a public or private client, this can be a great way to show that you are a trusted and sought-after artist.

To list a commission in your resume, include the year, the entity that commissioned a piece from you, the name of the piece, the scale, and the method, like so:

Collections

If high-profile clients have included your work in a collection, this is worth mentioning as it boosts your reputation as an artist and increases the desirability of your work. Here’s how to do it the right way:

Name the collection, the entity holding the collection (a museum or institution, for example), and the location. However, you should seek permission from private clients before listing them in your resume.

Workshops

If you’ve taken a workshop and want to include this on your resume, you can list it in your education section. Including such achievements displays your authority as an artist and your expertise in a given area, like in this example:

Resume examples for different industries

Not sure what your resume should look like? The best way to learn is by taking inspiration from resume examples written by other candidates in your industry.

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