Course: Grantwriting and Promoting Your Practice

Course Overview

In Grant Writing & Promoting Your Practice participating artists will learn concrete techniques for writing about, speaking about, and otherwise representing their practice in a variety of professional contexts, including grant applications, artist talks, and social media. Participants also will consider the many ways in which artists use representation to make meaning and explore how questions about representation are central to both art and politics. The course focuses on skills applicable to artists working in all disciplines, including visual arts, social practice, moving image, performing arts, technology, and literature.

You will engage in the following activities in this course:

• Learn practical writing, administrative, and promotional skills necessary for a professional career in the arts.
• Critically examine the function and stakes of different forms of representation and communication—from a written artist statement and visual documentation to an elevator pitch and Instagram post—and how they can be used effectively to tell the story of your work.
• Develop working drafts of materials needed to apply for most grants, residencies, and other professional opportunities, including the Creative Capital Grant

Sample materials include an artist statement, artist biography, budget, timeline, work samples, and captions.

Course Modules

This course consists of eight modules that guide you through different aspects of representing your work. These modules are asynchronous, meaning that all content is written and/or prerecorded so you can move through each module at your own pace.

You can navigate between the modules from the links on this page:

Module 1: Art, Politics, and the Stakes of Representation

As an introduction to the course, we will delve deeper into what it means to “represent,” with a particular focus on the aesthetic and political dimensions of representation.

Module 2: Self-Presentation: Artist Statement + Artist Bio + Artist Resume

In professional contexts, artists often are asked to tell the story of who they are professionally through three key documents: the artist statement, artist bio, and resume. For this reason, it is vital to understand the different functions of these documents and the strategic purposes they serve. This module will empower artists to develop methods for authentic yet tactical communication and self-presentation.

Module 3: Professional Writing: Project Proposals + Descriptions

Creating work and writing about creative work are two different skill sets. In this module, artists will learn how to compose clear and concise project proposals and work descriptions that communicate the nuance and originality of their thinking while remaining accessible to broader audiences. Participants will practice balancing convention and creativity to develop an approach to professional writing that accurately and effectively reflects their work.

Module 4: Career Documentation: Work Samples + Archiving

This module will focus on preparing work samples across various media and disciplines. Participants will explore the different concerns and criteria facing time-based artists, artists working with ephemeral materials, and artists using emerging technologies difficult to capture in a work sample or archive. Through this interdisciplinary conversation, artists will learn techniques for preparing work samples that best represent their practice. They also will develop strategies for archiving their work that can be implemented at any stage of a professional career.

Module 5: Practical Administration: Timelines + Budgets + Planning

Timelines and budgets are not just practical tools for managing a project or practice. They are documents that tell the story of your work and your process and allow you to plan for the future. In this module, artists will learn how to use timelines and budgets to represent their practice effectively. They also will learn long-term planning skills like time management and goal setting.

Module 6: Articulating Your Practice: Artist Talks + Elevator Pitches

Your voice as an artist is powerful. Funders, collectors, viewers, readers, students, and others often want to hear from living artists directly, and how you speak about your work can affect how it is supported, represented, and experienced. Participants in this module will learn to speak about their work in different contexts, from long-form artist talks to short-form elevator pitches.

Module 7: Promoting Your Work: Press Releases + Interviews

You are the person best equipped to generate interest and excitement for your work. This module emphasizes artists’ agency over the visibility of their projects and practices. Participants will learn how to write a press release, prepare for interviews with the press, and lift up the work of other artists in the field. Communities, classrooms, panels, performances, exhibitions, and other contexts will be discussed.

Module 8: Online Presence: Website + Social Media

Learning how to build an online presence and engage audiences directly are two essential skills for promoting your practice. In this module, artists will learn how to craft a professional website where nominators, panelists, curators, programmers, and the general public can learn about former projects and current work. Participants also will learn effective strategies for connecting directly with new audiences through social media.

Video: Low-Stress Networking

Networking can feel stressful for many artists, especially at a time when we feel ever-increasing pressure to pitch and promote our work. How can we as artists build community in ways that utilize our own specific strengths and tendencies, and reframe networking activities in ways that feel good to us?

Course Contributors

• Aliza Shvarts, Director of the Low-Residency MFA Program, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, www.alizashvarts.com
• Maura Brewer, www.maurabrewer.com