Nailing the Application: Setting Goals and Sharpening Your Written Materials

The first part of a two-part series where we break down the most important parts of an application to help you successfully navigate applications and open calls.

In this article, we’ll share tips for locating open calls and arts opportunities, and determining if they are right for you. Then, we’ll dive into how to write your artist statement and narrative to stand out in crowded applicant pools. In the second article (coming soon!), we’ll shift to work samples. 

These insights come courtesy of Brigitta Varadi, a Hungarian-born self-taught artist and Director of Residencies at ChaNorth, an international artist residency program in Pine Plains, NY. 

Varadi knows both sides of applying for arts opportunities as an applicant and as a reviewer. She’s had solo exhibitions at Civitella Ranieri, Italy; Burlington City Arts Center; Westbeth Gallery; Budapest Gallery; Leitrim Sculpture Center, and others, and is a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Interdisciplinary Arts. Other residencies and fellowships include MacDowell, the Museum of Arts and Design, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, and the NARS Foundation. She is currently part of NYFA’s Artist Advisory Committee.

Without further ado: the content!

Self Reflection

Varadi suggests that you ask yourself the following clarifying questions to help you set goals and intentions:

• As an artist, what kinds of opportunities truly interest you?
• What is your vision for yourself five years from now? 
• Where do you see yourself as a practicing artist?

She advises this because if you don’t work through a lens of doing what is right for you, you may find yourself saying yes to everything…and eventually feeling burned out and unfocused.

In her own experience, it took a two-week residency for her to realize that what she needed most for her practice was to take a break where she could breathe, reflect, and begin creating new work.

So, before you begin, set the tone: Where do you see yourself as an artist, where and how can you grow, and through what opportunities? 

How to Structure Your Search

There are a lot of opportunities out there, and many of them come with specific timelines and application fees. 

If you haven’t applied for an opportunity before, do your research by seeing what other artists you feel aligned with have done–and start looking independently and talking to people to get ideas. For visual and performing artists, that might look like going through artist CVs and bios; for literary artists that could mean the same plus also referring to the “acknowledgements” section in works by published authors.

Once you know more, consider setting a budget for yourself that can help you to strategically set your sights on what might be best for you and within your budget.

Per Varadi’s advice, that might mean applying to six things (there is no hard and fast rule) and concentrating on quality over quantity. Depending on where you are as an artist, that might mean applying to three or four opportunities that you feel you have a good shot at getting, and then a couple of opportunities that might be slightly more out of reach.

As far as there where you find opportunities, there are a number of resources out there including:

• NYFA Classifieds
• Res Artis
• TransArtists
• Creative Capital
• Artist Communities
• Words of Mouth
• Other artists! 

Varadi emphasizes the importance of residencies for practicing artists, because of the learning from each other, from the program, from the time that you have to dedicate to your work, but also from the community that you create. 

She credits the community that she has created over the last 20 years for helping to support and sustain her practice now.

Asking More Questions

Once you have a list of opportunities you might be interested in, consider attending or watching an info session if offered. 

Says Varadi: “I strongly advise people to attend an information session. A lot of grants, a lot of organizations have information sessions, some have office hours, some have one-to-one meetings on the phone or Zoom with the artists who are interested to apply. You can also ask questions directly from there. And if not, you can always email the organization and ask questions. We are here to support you and to help you.”

You may want to jot down a list of questions or needs that you might have going into applying for opportunities. For example, “If you’re doing a residency, or something that is physically involved, assess the situation for yourself, especially if it’s a residency,” says Varadi. She continues: “Like, will the accommodation work for you? Will the studios work for your practice? Because they might not be the right match.” 

She added: “Also review finances, payments, stipend, grant, hidden costs, that it is for you, like daily cost, food, travel, all that.”

The more questions you ask and get answered, the better informed you will be to know whether it will be worth applying to the opportunity. 

When You Apply

Varadi strongly suggests taking time for each application but also preparing an application package so you’re not completely unprepared when deadlines approach.

This package could include folders with:

• High quality artwork and images or things like  text and video work.
• Your artist bio, artist statement, project proposals.
• A tracking system where you set up your own spreadsheets for the opportunities that interest you. You can import them into your Google Calendar, as some have the same open call timing each year.

With any application, Varadi says: “Give an application the same respect you want the organization to give you.”

Written Materials Overview

Varadi works on 100, 200, and 500 word bios that she can just copy/paste when the time comes. Similarly, with her artist statement. She revisits these documents to rewrite and show how her work has progressed. She keeps one-page, two-page, three-page, and full CVs, because it takes time to readjust when you’re in the thick of applying and some organizations have specific notes on length.

This prep work saves time for some of the other parts of the application, but overall will help you “put your best foot forward”–a phrase that resonates greatly with Varadi.

“It’s relationship building. Applying, putting your application out, it’s relationship building. So,make every application you do count. Even if you don’t get the opportunity, it will count in the long run,” she advises. Even if you are not selected, the jury panelists will still see your work—you are actively putting yourself out there and building connections. The next time they come across your work, whether through another application, platform, or context, they may remember it. This visibility can lead to future opportunities, and if they feel strongly about your work, they may even advocate for you. No application is wasted if you put your best foot forward each time you apply.

For other aspects of the application, Varadi sees them as building blocks. For example, when she is putting together a proposal for a solo show or for a residency that requires a project proposal, the work doesn’t yet exist. The application process helps her to clarify what her project is–the materiality and how she will create it. “It makes me think, and it grows within me. And by the time I get that opportunity, I could see from the beginning all that growth and thought I put in.”

The Artist Bio

An artist bio is about you, your background, your achievements, your milestones in your artistic journey. The artist bio is almost like a selected, curated narrative version of your CV. 

Varadi notes that a lot of times, the artist bio is limited to 100 or 150 words. She recommends always reading the application thoroughly to ensure you know the word counts. In general, she suggests this format:

• Start with your name, where you were born, and where you live now. Some artists include the year they were born.
• Next, your education. For Varadi, she is self-educated so she writes this here.
• Your career highlights come next, starting with the most accomplished things that you have achieved like grants, fellowships, and then solo shows, group shows, and residences. Says Varadi: “You can talk about if you have also a curatorial practice next to being a visual artist, or filmmaker or dancer. You can talk about any job that is related to the art world or art.”

If you’re just starting out, you may not have a lot to include. If this is the case, Varadi says to highlight your education or smaller group shows you may have been part of. She advises: “Fill it, fill that 100 words up by stating the name, the title of your group show, the gallery, the location, and the year, and then it gives a really nice full-bodied bio for yourself.”

The Artist Statement

An artist statement is about your work: what you make, why you make it, and how you make it. Varadi says that it acts like a bridge between you and your audience, the jury panel. It offers insights into your creative process, intentions, and it gives your side of the story. This varies from the project statement, which zooms in and gets more specific to a specific body of your work.

Varadi describes the artist statement as an umbrella statement that talks about your creative practice and how you create your work. Says Varadi: “It provides a context for the jury to ground your submitted material, to ground your work. It gives your side of the story.”

To help you focus it, Varadi underscores that “Short is better. Less is more.” Condensing your artist statement is a skill, but one that can serve you well particularly when considering that some juries review hundreds of applications.

Some tips for writing your artist statement:

• Typically it is written in the first person. As a Hungarian, Varadi is more comfortable speaking about herself and her work in the third person, for example. She typically starts there and then changes back into the first person once she has it pretty much down.
• A good artist statement should be between 80-140 words, though most residency applications will ask for a 100 word statement. Note: NYFA typically asks for a 250 word max artist statement; be sure to read each opportunity’s guidelines carefully to confirm the word count!
• Should typically speak to: Who you are. What you are doing, making, and creating. Your work’s purpose or philosophy. Your methods and materials. Color code the parts of your written statement that match with these parts, to ensure you’ve covered them, and give detail! **You mix it up the way it makes sense for you.**
• Your methods and materials. For visual artists, it is especially important to clearly describe your process. Be as concrete and specific as possible about both your techniques and materials, especially if this is not fully visible through your submitted supporting materials. Says Varadi: “We as artists, myself included, often focus heavily on the philosophy/concept behind our work, sometimes leaving juries wondering about the process or materials used—especially when these are central to the work and the project.” For non-visual artists such as writers, dancers, and filmmakers, it is just as important to clearly articulate the process in an artist statement, as it helps communicate how the work is developed and brought to life.
• Write in a way that everyone in the audience will understand. Not everyone on the jury will come from an artistic/creative background. Do not be overly grandiose or abstract.
• Sharpening your statement is a practiced skill! Don’t just write it and finalize it. Come back to it, read it out loud, have someone else read it!

Example Artist Statements:

• BOCA TUYA (109 words; Director Omar Román de Jesús is a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Choreography ’22)
  BOCA TUYA is a New York–based Cultural Movement Collaborative under the direction of Puerto Rican choreographer Omar Román de Jesús. Rooted in the rhythms, storytelling traditions, and cultural heritage of Puerto Rico, we craft immersive dreamscapes that blend cadence, surrealist narrative, and unforgettable characters. Honoring ancestors and lineage, we connect past and present to champion the visibility and excellence of New York’s leading movement artists. Since 2018, we have fostered holistic growth, prioritizing wellbeing, economic stability, and creative fulfillment. Through performance, global touring, educational outreach, and choreographic commissions, BOCA TUYA empowers artists to live fully within their artistry while cultivating authenticity, equity, and innovation with a distinct Boricua heartbeat.
  
• Tiffany Smith (100 words; Smith is a NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Interdisciplinary Work ’18)
  Tiffany Smith is an interdisciplinary artist from the Caribbean diaspora working in photography, video, installation, and design. Using plant matter, design and home decor elements, pattern, and costuming as cultural signifiers, Smith creates photographic portraits, site responsive installations, user engaged experiences, and assemblages focused on identity, representation, cultural ambiguity, and displacement. Visual references from an array of multi-cultural influences inform constructed environments that serve to articulate cultural subjectivities that oscillate between visitor and native roles. Smith’s practice centers on what forms and defines communities of people of color, in particular; how they are identified and represented, and how they endure.
  
• Portia Munson (32 words)
  Portia Munson is a visual artist who works in a range of mediums including photography, painting, sculpture and installation and focuses primarily on environmental and cultural themes seen from a feminist perspective.

This is just one piece of putting together a strong application. In Part 2, we’ll get into work samples–which are arguably the most important thing to consider in your application!

Interested in one-on-one guidance on writing an artist statement? Check out NYFA Coaching, which offers tailored advice from industry experts on a range of arts career topics. 

You may also be interested in “Writing About Your Work,” an online course with Brigitta Varadi that helps you to develop an artist statement that effectively describes what you make, how you make it, and why you make it–enabling art professionals and supporters to understand and connect with your artistic practice!

This article shares insights from “Public Art and Creative Placemaking,” a free online panel discussion NYFA presented in partnership with the Northern Virginia Local Arts Agencies (NVLAA), a collaboration of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts, Arlington Cultural Affairs, and ArtsFairfax.