16 Ideas for Repurposing Your Artist Statement

Don't write your artist statement for someone else. 
Do it for yourself.

Don't write your artist statement because you have to. 
Do it because you will grow and learn.

Don't write your artist statement and then forget about it. 
Do it so that you fully embrace the words.

Jill Saur, Autumn Promise. Acrylic on canvas.
Jill Saur, Autumn Promise. Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 inches. ©The Artist

Your self-promotion efforts get much easier once you have the right words to define your art. Here are six ways you can use a good artist statement.

1. Print your statement off in a large font, and turn it into a label for your exhibition.
2. Use it as the basis for text in a grant application.
3. Separate each sentence and expand on it in a blog post.
4. Print your statement on a brochure or in a catalog you print through a site like Blurb.com or Lulu.com.
5. Review it each time you're asked to talk about your art. Make sure your presentation reflects your statement and vice versa. If they don't support one another, regroup and rewrite.
6. Post your statement on your website, but not on a separate page. Instead, post it next to the art that it's supposed to be about.

When you have an artist statement you're proud of, condense it into a single smashing sentence. Use this sentence in the following ways.

1. Turn it into the opening sentence of your About page or biography.
2. Add it to the back of your business card.
3. Adapt it for your social media profiles.
4. Make it into a T-shirt, mug, or bumper sticker.
5. Post it on your studio door.
6. Have it printed on cocktail napkins.
7. Build a blog post from each word in the sentence.
8. Tweet it. Use the #artiststatement hashtag so we can read it, too.
9. Add it as a tagline to your newsletter or blog.
10. Laminate it on a small card and carry it with you.

If your statement is more than a year old, consider a rewrite — unless you haven't been doing any art for 365 days.
How do you approach, write, edit, and repurpose your artist statement?

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20 thoughts on “16 Ideas for Repurposing Your Artist Statement”

  1. Allison – Thank you for your insights that you share so generously!
    I’ve found the the exercise of writing, re-writing and refining my artist statement does much to “sell myself” on my own artistic process and journey. It brings confidence, focus and clarity – in addition to being a useful marketing tool for collectors.

  2. Pingback: Organic Marketing for Artists: Mind Cheese and the Last Painting

    1. JT: Boy, it would really stink if you had a tattoo and then changed the direction of your art.

  3. Roger K. Lawrence

    I would like to see an example of someone’s artists statement that you are using today. I have never written one.

  4. Everyone, I think, need to have that unique statement expressed through art, fashion, writing etc; artists and even people from other industries have their own style of selling themselves.I’ve seen a lot of artists’ and designers’ blogs where they put some lines at the header – that gives an overview of what the blog is all about, and see a variation or rewrites printed on shirts and some stuff.

  5. When I redid my statement last winter, it really helped me feel comfortable giving a talk about my work. Having done all the exercises in your e-book, I was prepared to talk off the cuff about what I was doing in my work.

  6. Aside from how we can leverage/repurpose it, I totally agree with your idea that the statement is first and foremost for the artist, Alyson. It’s a great way to clarify our vision about where our work is going…It’s part of our internal dialog as artists 🙂
    I think I’ll re-write mine…

  7. Pingback: Rework Your Artist Statement with 3 Answers — Art Biz Blog

  8. Great ideas as always! Just revisiting my artist statement is a good exercise. My “path” hasn’t really changed, by my “voice” has. Always good to rethink how and where to express what goes into my art.

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Get a transcript of episode 182 of The Art Biz (Rethinking Mailing Lists for Artists) followed by a 3-page worksheet to evaluate the overall health and usage of the 3 types of artist lists.

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