How to write your artist bio

It's one of the most miswritten, most confused tools in the artist's kit of skills, and getting it right is vital for career success.
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Recently I participated in a bio writing workshop for artists, which was a bit like a career speed dating session – half hour slots to assess and review how artists had written their biographies.

It was not the skill level presented that surprised me, rather the confusion surrounding the task at hand. The majority of the artist bios were just abridged versions of their artist statements: ‘I am a painter inspired by…’ and ‘My work uses…’.

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Gina Fairley is ArtsHub's National Visual Arts Editor. For a decade she worked as a freelance writer and curator across Southeast Asia and was previously the Regional Contributing Editor for Hong Kong based magazines Asian Art News and World Sculpture News. Prior to writing she worked as an arts manager in America and Australia for 14 years, including the regional gallery, biennale and commercial sectors. She is based in Mittagong, regional NSW. Twitter: @ginafairley Instagram: fairleygina