This document provides guidance on writing an artist's statement to contextualize one's studio work. It addresses common fears and objections around writing about one's work. The document recommends that statements explain one's ideas, inspirations and process in clear, unpretentious language for the intended audience. It should not be a resume or biography, but rather deepen understanding of the work. The workshop aims to help artists develop statements through discussion and reflection on their work and each other's. Statements should be concise, around 150 words and reference influences, intentions and methodology to promote understanding of the work.

1. WRITING ABOUT YOUR WORK

2. Fears, objections, myths, and caveats BORING THE WORK SPEAKS FOR ITSELF DIARISTIC ESOTERIC POINTLESS VAGUE ARTISTS CAN’T WRITE WHY SHOULD I EXPLAIN MY WORK? REVEALING ACADEMIC PERSONAL PRETENTIOUS PRESCRIPTIVE WHO IS IT FOR? PRIVATE GENERIC PROCESS IT’S SOMEONE ELSES JOB ARTISTS SHOULDN’T BE EXPECTED TO WRITE WHY? IRRELEVANT INAPPROPRIATE

3. WRITING ABOUT YOUR WORK, HOW TO REPRESENT YOUR WORK AND IDEAS “We also do cut-glass sherry decanters complete with six glasses on a silver-plated tray that your butler can serve you drinks on, all for £4.95. People say, "How can you sell this for such a low price?", I say, "because it's totally crap". When you are not there to defend/explain/contextualise your work, your statement will do your job

5. Ways to get started writing about your work

6. How to reflect your work in your written statement

8. Assist you in furthering the visual and contextual research of your own studio practice by creating/preparing an artist’s/designer’s statement

11. To promote your ideas, inspirations and studio based work

12. It gives you an opportunity to articulate the influences, sources, and techniques employed in your work

13. It allows your work to be understood and contextualised in the context it was made

15. An artist's statement is a short piece written by the artist, it provides a window into the artist’s world. It offers insight into a single piece or an entire body of work

16. An artist's statement shouldn't be dismissed as insignificant or dashed out in a hurry as it can be a vital selling tool, promoting and explaining your work, whether to potential buyers, exhibition curators, critics, fellow artists, or casual browsers

17. An artist's statement can be an outline of your thinking, methodology, philosophy

19. The statement is not about you, it’s about your work. Don’t tell people your life history; they just don’t want to know. Stick to discussing your work

22. Most find it very hard at first and some refuse - not wanting to put down in words what they are trying to say in their art

25. 1. Research: What are you looking at? What methodologies are you adopting to uncover source materials? (Note that your research can be anything, it shouldn’t simply be a list of artists that you like)

26. 2. Aims: What do you expect your work to ‘do’?

27. 3. Methods: What form(s) does your research/practice take? What is the relationship between form and content? How does your work relate to the sites in which it is installed?

29. This text should be written in prose and be approximately 300 words. For example it could consist of two or three concise paragraphs. (It is best to start with a long version of your artist statement, that way you can edit it down to a manageable size):

32. 5. Remember, avoid being overly descriptive, be more critical and reflective

34. As with making art, practice makes it easier and perseverance is essential. You're unlikely to produce a polished artist's statement the first time you try, so be prepared to rework it several times.

36. Keep it short and keep it to the point. Be specific, not vague. Be creative with your writing, don’t write in a dry and systematic way

39. This is an introduction to key aspects of research and context

41. Next swap your artwork with a partner, preferably someone who is not overly familiar with your practice. Apply a similar process to this unfamiliar piece of work. By examining the artwork generate a list of words and phrases that you can reliably consider to provoke or suggest the objectives, rationale, and methodology apparent in the work. Remember not only to draw from what is in front of you, that is, what is seemingly inherent in the ‘final product’ but also apply knowledge you have with regards to for example other artists, or artworks, can you contextualize this work? Does it relate to ‘bigger’ contexts? Is it political, can you read it from a feminist perspective, does it extend or explore conversations within art? Is it derivative? Is this knowingly done?

42. With your partner you should now read what you have written and discuss and take note of any discrepancies, disparities, confluences of ideas relating to your own work. This will aid you in writing your statement.

43. Completing the Artist’s/Designer’s Statement Q. Who is your audience? A. Who the text is aimed at will determine the tone, content and focus of the statement. Q. How long should it be? A. A guide is that it should be written in prose and be approximately 150 words. For example it could consist of two or three concise paragraphs:

44. Begin with a statement about why you do the work you do, support this by making reference to your influences and aspirations Discuss how you make decisions, select materials, themes, techniques etc Consider your current work, how did it grow from prior work/life experiences? What are you attempting to explore, challenge etc? Whilst your statement can provide a clear testament to your aims and interests remember that the expression of this commitment will vary so it is important to review your artist's statement whenever you need to.