Susan Washington

As artists, we often resist confining our work and ourselves to specific labels or styles. However, creating a solid artistic identity is essential for communicating effectively with those interested in our work. Each element of your creative identity should help clarify your vision, intentions, and ideas, fostering deeper connections and engagement with your audience. Establishing goals, big or small, allows us to develop plans and actionable steps to achieve success. Having a clear vision and strategy means any goal is manageable.

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#### Defining Your Art

**What do you say when people ask you what kind of art you make?**

Defining your art doesn't equate to locking yourself and your artistic expression into a predictable style. Instead, focus on defining your current body of work so you can effectively articulate its unique qualities to those interested in it, want to know more about it, and potentially buy it. Building a solid foundation and recognizable voice for selling your work will help you communicate its uniqueness. When you can clearly convey the inspiration behind your work, intentions, and vision, you'll form stronger connections with potential collectors, which will help create deeper appreciation and greater engagement.

#### Artist Statement

An artist statement is a written description that assists the audience in understanding your artistic work. It can clarify your creative process, artistic intentions, and the themes or messages conveyed in your art. It provides context for your audience and is a powerful tool for connecting with them. Non-artists may hesitate to ask questions about your work for fear of seeming uninformed. A simple artist statement can supply valuable insight, bridging this gap.

As New York art critic and writer Jerry Saltz suggests, "Sit down. Don’t get up till you have 175 idiotic honest words about what you’re actually doing IN THE WORK. It doesn’t have to make sense. It need only be convincing & specific..." 

Then, put it together keeping it simple, authentic, and honest while addressing the three main questions:
- What do you make?
- How do you make it?
- Why do you make it?


#### Artist Bio

The artist's bio is a concise yet comprehensive summary of your background, accomplishments, and career highlights. Its primary purpose is establishing your credentials and identity within the art community. Important information to include:

- Place of birth.
- Educational background: Discuss degrees, specialized training, or workshops.
- Significant exhibitions: Mention solo and group shows, including gallery, venue, museum names, and exhibition dates.
- Achievements and awards: List grants, fellowships, residencies, and other recognitions.
- Collections: Highlight any public or private collections featuring your work.

By building a well-written artist statement and bio, you'll effectively communicate your artistic vision and professional achievements, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of your work among your audience.

#### Setting Goals

Establishing goals is crucial as you grow your art community because they provide strategy and direction, serving as benchmarks to track your progress. By identifying clear objectives, you have a measurable way to monitor your achievements and reassess if you need to meet those benchmarks.

Juggling an art career, especially in today's market, can be overwhelming. It often feels like throwing things at a wall to see what sticks, which wastes time and energy. Instead, create specific goals to guide your efforts.

For instance, you might set a goal of increasing your Instagram followers by 25% in 6 months and converting 15% of those new followers to your fans and collectors on your Cohart profile to make three sales. With this goal in mind, you can then develop actionable steps:

Make sure your Cohart Storefront is ready to go so you can make those sales. Upload high-quality photographs that show the artwork from different angles, feature your works, upload a bio, and provide information about the artwork. 

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**Create a content calendar**: Plan your social media posts, aiming for a mix of artwork, work-in-progress (WIP), behind-the-scenes content, and engaging captions. Designate a day every couple of weeks to create content and photos, utilizing apps to pre-plan your posts.

**Use relevant hashtags**: Research and incorporate hashtags related to your art style, medium, and target audience.

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**Engage with followers**: Build relationships by liking, commenting, and sharing content, encouraging others to engage with and share your content.

**Create new posts**: Share your Cohart Storefront, profile, and moments on Instagram, transforming followers into fans and buyers who can easily access your Cohart community and directly purchase your work.

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Remember to track your progress using tools like Instagram Insights to monitor follower growth and engagement or apps like Todoist to break down goals into manageable tasks and daily reminders.

Additionally, check the progress on your Cohart dashboard. For instance, when you create an Instagram post with the goal of converting a percentage of those Instagram followers to Cohart fans and buyers, be sure to check your Cohart Summary stats on your dashboard to see how many people you have driven from social media to the art you posted for sale from Cohart - where art lovers can instantly buy it! 

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Establishing goals, big or small, allows artists to develop plans and actionable steps to achieve success. 

Defining Your Artistic Identity in a Changing Art World

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