Writing an artist statement

Art and design

The role and impact of curators

Artists as curators

Selecting work and considering the audience

Presentation of work

Reproducing art: postcards, prints and artist editions

Talking about your work

Promotions: how to publicise a show

This teacher-led unit concludes the course with a physical or virtual exhibition. Pupils, having been introduced to curating, will select work based on quality and criteria, explore presentation, and mount and frame their pieces.

Curating an exhibition

a list of all the galleries an artist has visited

a piece of writing where the artist explains their ideas, materials, intentions

a short biography about the artist’s life story only

Which of these is the best description of an artist statement?

An artist statement should be written in clear, simple language that anyone can understand.

It makes them like the work whether they want to or not.

It replaces the need to look at the artwork.

It helps them notice details and understand the artist’s intentions.

Why might an artist statement be useful for viewers?

Give one thing an artist might include in their statement to explain their work.

All artists, in every culture and time, write formal written artist statements.

through private letters or instructions from patrons

by posting written statements in galleries

How did many artists in earlier periods of Western art communicate the meaning or intention of their work?

Writing an artist statement

Lesson outcome