An artist CV is not a job resume. Galleries, residencies, grant panels and art schools read it as a record: where you studied, where your work has been shown, what you have been awarded and who holds your work. It is usually a plain list in reverse chronological order, and the plainness is deliberate. The work does the persuading; the CV proves the track record.
The examples below are fictional. Replace every [bracketed] show, venue and year with your own, and list only exhibitions and awards that actually happened.
The standard artist CV sections
- Name, website or portfolio link, email and the city where you are based.
- Education: degrees in art, with institution and year. Workshops and residencies can have their own section.
- Solo exhibitions, then group exhibitions: year, title, venue, city.
- Awards, grants and residencies: year, name, awarding organisation.
- Collections, publications and press: only if they exist.
- Teaching or related professional experience, if relevant to the application.
Artist CV format (fictional)
[Your Name] — [website] · [email] · based in [City]
EDUCATION: [BFA/MFA], [Institution], [Year]
SOLO EXHIBITIONS: [Year] [Title], [Gallery], [City]
GROUP EXHIBITIONS: [Year] [Title], [Venue], [City]
AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES: [Year] [Award or residency], [Organisation]
COLLECTIONS: [Collection name], [City] — only if your work is held there
Early-career artist CV with few exhibitions
Degree shows, student exhibitions, open-call group shows, pop-ups, online exhibitions with a named curator and commissions all count. Label each accurately. A short honest CV reads better than a long one padded with shows a panel cannot find.
Early-career entries (fictional)
[Year] Graduate show, [Art school], [City]
[Year] [Title], open-call group exhibition, [Community gallery], [City]
[Year] Commission: mural for [client], [City]
Artist CV vs artist resume vs artist statement
- Artist CV: the full record of shows, education and awards, for galleries, grants and residencies.
- Artist resume: one or two pages for jobs such as teaching, illustration or design, organised around skills and work experience.
- Artist statement: a short paragraph about what your work is about. It is a separate document, not a CV section.
Send the CV with your images and an image list
Galleries, residencies and grant panels usually ask for images of the work alongside the CV. Follow each call's rules on the number of images and file size, and label every image so the panel can match it to your CV.
Image list entry (fictional)
1. [Title], [year]
[Medium, e.g. oil on linen], [height × width × depth] cm
Shown at: [venue], [city], [year] — if exhibited
How long should an artist CV be?
As long as the record, with no padding. Early-career CVs are often one page; established artists may run to several.
Should an artist CV include a photo?
No. Include a link to your portfolio or website instead, so the panel sees the work itself.
Do I list online exhibitions?
Yes, if they were curated or selected. Mark them as online and include the organiser.
Share the work with a portfolio website and see how to build a portfolio without client experience. Applying for a studio or design job instead? Compare the architect resume example and use the resume builder.