ARTICLE BY SUZANNE LIEURANCE

If you’re an artist or craftsperson offering your art in stores and galleries, you need an artist’s statement. Do you have one? If not, you’re missing out on a great marketing tool.

Artist’s statements vary in length, form, and the material presented. Generally, though, an artist’s statement should let readers know a bit about your background, include a few sentences about what you believe to be the most important aspects of your art, and describe the techniques, materials, and tools you use to create it.

Here are just a few ways your artist’s statement can be used to promote your art:

1. It can help art consultants, gallery owners, and store salespeople better understand your work. The more they know about what you do, the better they are able to sell your work.
    
2. It helps reviewers, biographers, and reporters write reviews, profiles, and articles about you. They don’t need to call you or meet with you for an interview. They simply use material from your statement, and other information from the store or gallery owner, to craft an announcement or review of your work for their newspaper or other publication.
    
3. It can be used to submit with grant applications and project proposals. Since your artist’s statement offers a short explanation of your work and the techniques you use, it is a good summary piece to include with slides, photos, or other samples of your work when applying for funding.
    
4. It can encourage viewers to purchase your work because they may feel a deeper connection to your art after reading about it (and you) in your artist’s statement.

If you’ve put off writing your own artist’s statement because you’ve found it difficult to “toot your own horn,” hire a professional writer to write your statement for you. Your artist’s statement will become one of the most valuable marketing tools you’ll use to promote your art.

Suzanne Lieurance is a children’s author, freelance writer, and owner of the Three Angels Gourmet Co., featuring her line of “heavenly gourmet mixes.” Find out more about her children’s books or get information about her freelance writing services (including artist’s statements).

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