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Artist resume

An exhibition entry is only useful to a gallery panel when it carries the medium, the venue, the city, and whether the show was solo, juried, or group, because that is how a curator reads the level you have worked at. The same career has to bend two ways: a fine-art CV that leads with shows, residencies, grants, and collections, and a position-focused artist resume that pulls your teaching, fabrication, or studio-management work up front for a hiring committee. Decide which document a given application is asking for before you write a single line, group entries by type rather than by date, and keep a live portfolio link sitting right next to your name.

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Omar Diallo
Visual Artist | Painter and Printmaker
[email protected] · (555) 421-5463 · Brooklyn, NY · linkedin.com/in/omar-diallo · omardiallo.art
Summary

Visual artist working in oil, acrylic, and intaglio printmaking with a record of solo and juried group exhibitions across the Northeast. MFA in Painting with studio teaching experience and grant-funded residency work. Maintains an active studio practice and an online portfolio at omardiallo.art.

Experience
Selected Solo Exhibitions2021 - 2025
  • Tidal Registers, Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2025)
  • Soft Boundaries, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2023)
  • Field Notes, Ortega y Gasset Projects, Brooklyn, NY (2021)
Selected Group and Juried Exhibitions2019 - 2025
  • Surface Tension, juried by curator Lauren Haynes, Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY (2024)
  • Northeast Print Biennial, Zuckerman Museum of Art, Kennesaw, GA (2023)
  • Small Works, juried group show, Trestle Gallery, Brooklyn, NY (2022)
  • New Prints 2019/Autumn, International Print Center New York, New York, NY (2019)
Selected Grants, Awards, and Residencies2020 - 2024
  • Artist Residency, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT (2024)
  • NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship finalist, Painting category, New York Foundation for the Arts (2022)
  • Artist Residency, Ucross Foundation, Clearmont, WY (2020)
Adjunct Instructor, Foundations Drawing and Painting2021 - Present
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
  • Teach two sections of foundation drawing and color theory per semester, mentoring roughly 36 undergraduate students per term.
  • Built critique and portfolio-review structure that prepares students for BFA thesis and gallery submission.
  • Manage studio materials, printmaking press safety, and shared shop scheduling for the painting area.
Studio Artist (Independent Practice)2018 - Present
Self-employed, Brooklyn, NY
  • Produce 15 to 20 finished paintings and editioned prints per year for exhibition and private sale.
  • Photograph, catalog, and archive work using Artwork Archive and maintain a portfolio website with current inventory.
  • Manage commissions, pricing, consignment agreements, and sales correspondence with galleries and collectors.
Skills

Oil and acrylic painting · Intaglio and relief printmaking · Adobe Photoshop · Adobe Illustrator · Procreate · Color theory and composition · Studio and shop safety · Exhibition preparation and framing · Portfolio documentation and archiving · Grant and residency applications

Education
MFA in Painting, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, RI. BFA in Fine Arts, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore, MD.
Certifications
  • Adobe Certified Professional, Photoshop

A worked example for a fictional candidate. Copy the structure, not the details. Swap in your own real experience.

Keyword match

Keywords ATS systems scan for

Use the ones that are genuinely true for you, in your own words. Mirror the exact phrasing from the job posting where it matches.

studio practiceexhibition recordoil paintingprintmakingAdobe PhotoshopAdobe Illustratorportfolioartist residencygrant writingcolor theoryexhibition preparationart instruction
What recruiters look for

How to make this resume stronger

Specific to artist roles, not generic advice.

  • Lead with exhibitions, not jobs

    For gallery, grant, and residency submissions, an artist CV puts the exhibition record first and education near the top, the reverse of a standard resume. Separate solo, group, and juried shows once you have enough, and list each as title, venue, city, state, and year in reverse chronological order. Keep dates on the left edge so reviewers can scan your activity by year.

  • Keep two versions and tailor each

    Maintain one master CV with everything, then cut shorter versions for specific purposes. A gallery wants exhibitions and collections; a college teaching job wants education, professional experience, and the CV; a studio or production role wants a one-page resume that mirrors the job posting's software and medium keywords so it clears applicant tracking systems.

  • Name a real portfolio link and document your work

    The College Art Association recommends including a personal website URL, and reviewers expect to see the work. Link to a clean portfolio site, keep image titles and dates consistent with your CV, and skip the headshot, age, and full street address. City and state plus a professional email are enough.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Padding the CV with dramatic layouts, graphics, or repeated entries. Reviewers read these as inexperience, and a clean reverse-chronological list reads as more professional.
  • Mixing a fine-art CV and a job resume into one document. Decide which the recipient wants: a gallery or grant panel expects a CV led by exhibitions, while an employer wants a tailored one-page resume.
  • Inventing or inflating credentials. Listing a show you were not in, a grant you only applied for as if you won it, or a degree you did not finish is easily checked in the art world and ends opportunities.
  • Leaving off the portfolio link or burying it. The work is the point, so put a working website URL in the header and make sure every linked piece is current.

Artist resume FAQ

What is the difference between an artist CV and an artist resume?

An artist CV is a complete record of your professional art activity, led by your exhibition record and including education, grants, residencies, collections, bibliography, and publications. It can run several pages as your career grows. An artist resume is a shorter, tailored document, usually one page, aimed at a specific job and focused on relevant skills and experience. Galleries, grants, and residencies want a CV, while most employers want a resume.

What sections should an artist CV include?

A common order is name and contact information with a website, education with degrees such as a BFA or MFA in reverse chronological order, professional experience, awards and grants and residencies, the exhibition record split into solo and group or juried shows, commissions, bibliography, publications, lectures, and collections. The College Art Association calls the exhibition record the most important category, so lead with your strongest material.

How long should an artist resume or CV be?

A job-focused artist resume should usually be one page and tailored to the role. An artist CV grows with your career: emerging artists often fill one to two pages, while artists with twenty or more years of exhibitions may run six to ten pages. Keep it complete but uncluttered, with consistent formatting and dates on the left so reviewers can scan it quickly.

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Last reviewed June 10, 2026.