Writing an artist statement
A local artist has been commissioned to create a central art installation for the Salty Creek Community Festival. See how Hayden helps her write an artist statement…
This is a huge opportunity for the artist, Afra, who settled in Salty Creek when she was a teenager after arriving in Australia as a refugee several years ago. This is Afra’s first commissioned artwork. She plans to apply for a university scholarship to study art and pursue a career as an artist.
Afra knows that this is her chance to have her work more widely recognised, which may help her scholarship application, and lead to further paid work. The statement must engage the audience and convey the right message.
English is not Afra’s native language, and this type of writing is new to her, so she’s nervous about the artist statement. After spending several days drafting, she asks Hayden, one of the festival organisers, for some feedback.
Read Afra’s draft below. Can you see any areas for improvement?
Afra Akbari
Warm Reception, 2023
Salty Creek Festival
Warm Reception is an iconic, larger-than-life sculptural installation of two hands reaching out to grasp each other. They were constructed over several weeks using recycled wood, cardboard, cloth, and a very groundbreaking papier-mâché technique.
Arriving in Australia as a refugee in 2015 was initially an intimidating experience. I wondered whether I would ever find my place and be accepted there. The inspiration for this piece comes from a moment in my first, tumultuous week in Salty Creek, when a community elder grasped my hand between hers and spoke to me, and I struggled to understand her words, but I could feel the warmth of them through her touch, and it gave me a sense of comfort and from that moment on, Salty Creek has become a home which has embraced me and my family and enveloped us into the community.
This piece has been created by me because I wanted to show how I feel about the community that embraced me. Hands which hold each other with palm to palm are universally understood by people everywhere to represent assistance, comfort, friendship, and connection. I arrived in Salty Creek eight years ago and the community offered me these things.
I hope this installation will become the cynosure of the festival, a place for the people of Salty Creek to meet their family and friends, interact with the installation, take photos, and feel the warmth of the community.
Reflect
- What do you think of Afra’s artist statement?
- What vocabulary and editing tips would you give her?
Hayden has read Afra’s draft and sent her some feedback.He has numbered the areas he thinks Afra can improve.
Look at his feedback below and match the feedback (letters) to the section it refers to in the draft (numbers).
Warm Reception is an (1) iconic, larger-than-life sculptural installation of two hands reaching out to grasp each other. They were constructed over several weeks using recycled wood, cardboard, cloth, and a (2) very groundbreaking papier-mâché technique.
Arriving in Australia as a refugee in 2015 was initially an intimidating experience. I wondered whether I would ever find my place and be accepted there. (3) The inspiration for this piece comes from a moment in my first, tumultuous week in Salty Creek, when a community elder grasped my hand between hers and spoke to me, and I struggled to understand her words, but I could feel the warmth of them through her touch, and it gave me a sense of comfort and from that moment on, Salty Creek has become a home which has (4) embraced me and my family and enveloped us into the community.
(5) This piece has been created by me because I wanted to show how I feel about the community that embraced me. (6) Hands which hold each other with palm to palm are universally understood (7) by people everywhere to represent assistance, comfort, friendship, and connection. (8) I arrived in Salty Creek eight years ago and the community offered me these things.
I hope this installation will become the (9) cynosure of the festival, a place for the people of Salty Creek to meet their family and friends, interact with the installation, take photos, and feel the warmth of the community.
Fill in the blanks activity transcript
Select ‘Read the final version…’ to see Afra’s artist statement, which will be presented alongside her sculpture.
Afra’s artist statement final version transcript
Reflect
- Can you see how Afra has used Hayden’s feedback to improve her statement?
Thanks to her dedication and Hayden’s feedback, Afra’s artist statement is ready to support her work. She has developed her vocabulary and writing skills and learnt how to communicate the process and meaning of her work to an audience. The ability to write a statement like this is not only useful for sculptors like Afra, but also an essential professional skill for anyone working in creative fields, including industrial designers, writers, and digital media creators.
- Have you seen how Afra prepared to write her artist statement draft? Follow the link to see how she organises her ideas by mind mapping her artist statement. (8 minutes)
Learn more on Learning Lab
- Explore the tutorial on artist statement vocabulary, which includes tips to help you through your writing process and two short quizzes to test your knowledge. (20 minutes)
