Artist Statements: Notes from the Other Side of the Application

A former Tin House fellow on what actually makes a statement stand out

Art by Mariam Chagelishvili

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Hiya, welcome to The Forever Workshop.

First time? Read this first »

Back again? Here’s what we’ve got for you today:

A workshop for:

Writers applying to residencies, fellowships, grants, and workshops who want their artist statement to actually stand out.

Your instructor:

Kayla Kumari Upadhyaya — author, essayist, and editor who spent a year reading residency and workshop applications at Tin House.

Takeaways:

• How to tailor your statement to opportunities (and why the copy-paste approach is costing you)

• The four things to cut from your statement — and what to write instead

• A guide to mixing and matching past statements without starting from scratch

• How to define your work confidently (even if it means inventing your own genre)

• A set of prompts to help you write about your work like the artist you actually are

By the end of this workshop, you'll have a set of practical application prompts, a feel for what readers respond to, and the confidence to write about your work without cringing.

Why Your Artist Statement Matters

If you’ve been in the trenches of Submittable trying to apply for writing opportunities and support — from residencies to fellowships to workshops — then you might have a visceral reaction to the words artist statement. Sometimes referred to as a statement of purpose, the artist statement is an opportunity for the writer to advocate for themselves and their work.

I’ve heard all sorts of complaints about writing artist statements through the years: that it feels cringe or superfluous to write about one’s work and ambitions; or that it feels redundant or repetitive; or as if you’re just stabbing in the dark trying to figure out what it is the application review panel actually wants to hear.

But the artist statement is where you get to showcase who you really are and potentially stand out from other applicants.

I spent a year consistently reading application materials for residency and workshop programs at the literary institution formerly known as Tin House (now known as the McCormack Writing Center). Reading application materials is a much different experience than reading slush. You’re not just looking at the writing itself but at the potential of the project, the full breadth of the writer’s career and goals. Reading the artist statement portion was where I really felt I could get to know the writer as a real person. And after reading so many of them over the course of a year, I felt my practices for writing my own artist statements strengthen.

Does that strengthening mean I get 100% of the opportunities I apply to? Of course not! But beyond helping myself stand out with a strong artist statement, honing my craft (yes, it is a craft!) for these parts of applications has also just made the entire application process so much less daunting and tiresome. I don’t experience application fatigue like I used to, and I feel way less overwhelmed.

If you’re writing strong artist statements, it will inevitably boost your own confidence in talking about your work and advocating for yourself. And that will open up doors for you and make it easier to deal with the inevitable sting of rejection that comes with applying to as many opportunities as possible.

And so, with all that in mind, I’m going to be a little blunt and brutal here in my breakdown of what makes a compelling artist statement — and what to avoid including in your application:

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Artist Statement Dos and Don’ts