Artist Statement Tips

XPACE recently hosted a workshop on writing an Artist Statement. 



Here's a brief summary of some do's and don'ts to writing one. 

1. There are two kinds of artist statements.

(i) One that explains your overarching practice; and

(ii) One that explains a specific work.

2. Statements should be about 300-500 words.

(i)    What “is” the work?

(ii)  What do we see or experience?

(iii) What is at stake?

3. This is not a mystery novel. Start with a one-sentence description that encompasses all of the above to some extent – especially what it is – then unpack each of the listed items as is needed.

Illustrator Workshop @ XPACE

This Illustrator (and some Photoshop!) workshop will teach you all of the "101" type things you need to know about these Adobe programs. Some specific things we're going to cover is how to set up a document, shape manipulation, photo importing, image processing, what all those keyboard shortcuts do, document layout and more. This workshop is three hours long with a break in the middle. We'll be starting at 1pm sharp, so be sure to get there on time! Bringing a laptop will be extremely helpful to each participant, but it's not mandatory. If you can buddy up with somebody else's computer and take turns trying things out, that would be good, too.


This workshop will take place on Saturday April 14, from 1-4pm @ XPACE Cultural Centre.

Q: What is this good for?
A: Your next gallery show invite, your zines and bookworks, posters, and other publications. It's also extremely helpful to acquaint yourself with Adobe software. A lot of the basic functions are similar and it will be easier to learn other programs if you already know one or two.

Q: What should I bring besides myself?
A: A laptop if you have one (with a mouse!), a notepad, a pen, and some coffee (no spilling).

Q: Can I contact someone if I questions before/after the workshop?
A: Yes, you can e-mail Carolyn here: trippcar@gmail.com



Cost for this workshop is $10. 
Please RSVP by email by April 12th to alicia@xpace.info if you would to attend. 
We will cap the workshop at 16, so be sure to sign up early, as spots with go fast.

Artist Statement Workshop @ XPACE

When: Saturday, February 4, 2012, 1:00pm until 5:00pm
Where: XPACE Cultural Centre, 58 Ossington Ave, Toronto.

 

 

According to Wikipdia, an Artist Statement is...
'a text composed by an artist and intended to explain, justify, extend, and/or contextualize his or her body of work.'

But WHAT exactly makes a good or bad artist statement? And how does one write an artist statement in such a way that ANYONE, yes, even your mother, can understand what your work is about?

XPACE intends to show you exactly how to do this. We will have both good and bad statements, written by artists we have worked with, to give specific examples of common mistakes and pitfalls almost all artists make. Remember, writing an artist statement doesn't have to be an awful experience of watching a blinking cursor in an empty document. Writing about your work in an appropriate and concise way is an invaluable skill to have!