Artist Guides

Can You Become an Artist Without an Art Degree? Where to Start in Contemporary Art

Can you become an artist without formal training, what does academic schooling give you, and how does the lack of a degree…

What Is a Biennale? Why Artists Should Follow Contemporary Art Biennales

A biennale is held every two years, sets the agenda for contemporary art, and reads differently on an artist's CV depending on…

Exhibition Display: What It Is and How to Plan the Way Your Work Is Shown

Display in contemporary art: how it differs from an exhibition, how the space changes the way a work is perceived, and when…

What Is Performance Art? The Medium and How to Look at It

Performance art: what kind of medium it is, why it can't be judged the way painting is, how it relates to the…

Artist Bio: A Short Example and Three Formats Explained

An artist bio with a short sample text: how a bio differs from a CV and a catalogue biography, and what to…

What Is an Art Object? How It Differs from Sculpture and Installation

What the term “art object” means, how an art object differs from sculpture and installation, and how an artist can describe their…

What Is a Vernissage, and Why Does an Artist Need One?

What a vernissage is, how it differs from a preview and from an ordinary exhibition day, why an artist needs one, and…

What Is an Exhibition Curator? What They Do and How to Become One

Who an exhibition curator is: what they do from concept to opening, why a curatorial text is needed and how a curator…

What Is an Art Manager? What They Do and How to Become One

Who an art manager is: what they do, where they work, how they differ from a curator and a gallerist, and how…

Open Calls for Artists: How to Apply and What to Do About Rejection

What goes into an application, whether there are age or education limits, whether you can show older work, how to treat rejections…

Does an Artist Need an Art Manager? What They Do and When to Look for One

How an art manager differs from a gallerist and a curator, which tasks they take on, at what stage of a career…

Medium and Method in Art: How an Artist Turns an Idea into a Work That Speaks

How method differs from medium, why material is now part of the content, how the two systems work together and how to…

How the Art World Works: Who Does What and Who Artists Deal With

Gallerist, curator, art dealer, art advisor and art manager: what each of them does, how they differ from one another and how…

Artist Residency: What It Is, How to Choose a Programme and How to Apply

How a residency differs from an exhibition, how to choose a suitable programme, what a strong application consists of, how to write…

How to Promote Your Art: Personal Brand, Social Media, Press and Offline Events

What an artist's name is made of, how to run social media without turning it into a shop window, what press releases…

How an Emerging Artist Can Get Into a Contemporary Art Gallery

How a physical gallery differs from an online one, what kinds of contract exist, how to choose a gallery at your level…

How to Price Your Art: What a Painting Is Worth and How to Set Your Prices

Why the price of a work is not the same as what it cost to make, what symbolic value is, how exhibitions…

Artist Application Documents: What Goes Into the Package and How to Put It Together

Bio, artist statement, CV and portfolio: four documents that no application to a gallery, an open call or a residency can do…

How to Write an Artist CV: What to Include, How to Format Entries and Which Exhibitions to List

How a CV differs from a biography and an artist statement, which sections it is built from, how to format exhibitions and…

Artist Statement: How to Write About Your Art Without Drowning in Generalities

How to find the main theme of your practice, choose a tone and build an artist statement on a clear structure: the…

Artist Portfolio: What to Include, How Many Works to Show and How to Format It for a Gallery

We take the artist portfolio apart piece by piece: file format and length, structure and essential sections, captions, photographing the work, and…