Toolbox
This space provides artists with practical information needed for upcoming opportunities and/or the production of work. It is divided into four sections;
︎︎︎ A list of artist opportunities.
︎︎︎ Guides and references for artistic and practical documents.
︎︎︎ Downloadable templates for forms of agreements and contracts.
︎︎︎ An index of technicians, craftsmen and artisans.
Biography
Guidelines
Basic information
Name
Year of Birth
Area of work (Visual artist, performer, architect, writer...etc.)
City you are based in
Mediums you work with (very briefly)
Example ︎︎︎ Name (born in 1988), is a visual artist based in Cairo. She works with / mainly works with / her work spans across a wide range of mediums… Depending on the context you can add a line about your practice/ what topics you are interested in and so on.
Education
Mention if you have BA, MFA, MA, PHD.
Mention if you are/have been enrolled in any independent study programmes.
Mention any recent residencies.
Exhibitions
Write your most recent/important solo exhibitions
Write your most important/recent biennales or group exhibitions
Name of the exhibition/ Biennale (year), City
Collections
Mention if your work is acquired by any institutional or private collections.
Awards
Mention any prizes, awards, nominations, etc.
Artist Groups/Collectives
Mention at the end if you are part of a collective or any artist groups.
︎ General Tips
The biography should be in third-person narration.
Manage the amount of information you write depending on the word limit of the requested biography; for example you can sometimes skip the name and city of where an exhibition was held and only mention the space and year.
Prioritise the most important/significant exhibitions.
Abbreviations can be used instead of writing the whole word when you have a limited word count, for example: BA instead of Bachelor Degree
Name
Year of Birth
Area of work (Visual artist, performer, architect, writer...etc.)
City you are based in
Mediums you work with (very briefly)
Example ︎︎︎ Name (born in 1988), is a visual artist based in Cairo. She works with / mainly works with / her work spans across a wide range of mediums… Depending on the context you can add a line about your practice/ what topics you are interested in and so on.
Education
Mention if you have BA, MFA, MA, PHD.
Mention if you are/have been enrolled in any independent study programmes.
Mention any recent residencies.
Exhibitions
Write your most recent/important solo exhibitions
Write your most important/recent biennales or group exhibitions
Name of the exhibition/ Biennale (year), City
Collections
Mention if your work is acquired by any institutional or private collections.
Awards
Mention any prizes, awards, nominations, etc.
Artist Groups/Collectives
Mention at the end if you are part of a collective or any artist groups.
︎ General Tips
The biography should be in third-person narration.
Manage the amount of information you write depending on the word limit of the requested biography; for example you can sometimes skip the name and city of where an exhibition was held and only mention the space and year.
Prioritise the most important/significant exhibitions.
Abbreviations can be used instead of writing the whole word when you have a limited word count, for example: BA instead of Bachelor Degree
Artist Statement
Guidelines
The first paragraph should be about your general practice including the mediums you work with and the big umbrella that shapes your work.
Example ︎︎︎ My work explores the relationship between site and context, art and architecture, and artist and communities. I use a diverse range of materials to create spaces, sculptural environments and public freestanding sculptures.
The second paragraph should be about your interests that fall under this big title. You should also talk about your working methods, the themes addressed in your practice and the way you construct your thoughts and ideas.
Example ︎︎︎ Collaboration is an important element in my practice. I start with research of the site and conversations with community members when developing a concept for a project in order to have a contextual framework for the work. I then work with a team of artists, designers, architects, and users of the site to ensure the success and relevance of the project.
The final paragraph can be used to state whether you are working on a big project/research that has several stages or phases.
Example ︎︎︎ I am currently working on a commissioned public art piece for Frieze sculpture park etc.
These are all made-up artist statement scenarios just to hint at a general direction, but it can change (be longer or shorter) according to your area of practice.
︎ General Tips
Be specific, avoid generic statements and choose a vocabulary that best describes your practice (don’t use art speak).
Statements can be used for different purposes so be conscious of the context and tailor it accordingly. For example: A thematic residency might ask you to specify how your work relates to the chosen theme in your statement.
Continue to update your statement as your practice evolves and develops.
Example ︎︎︎ My work explores the relationship between site and context, art and architecture, and artist and communities. I use a diverse range of materials to create spaces, sculptural environments and public freestanding sculptures.
The second paragraph should be about your interests that fall under this big title. You should also talk about your working methods, the themes addressed in your practice and the way you construct your thoughts and ideas.
Example ︎︎︎ Collaboration is an important element in my practice. I start with research of the site and conversations with community members when developing a concept for a project in order to have a contextual framework for the work. I then work with a team of artists, designers, architects, and users of the site to ensure the success and relevance of the project.
The final paragraph can be used to state whether you are working on a big project/research that has several stages or phases.
Example ︎︎︎ I am currently working on a commissioned public art piece for Frieze sculpture park etc.
These are all made-up artist statement scenarios just to hint at a general direction, but it can change (be longer or shorter) according to your area of practice.
︎ General Tips
Be specific, avoid generic statements and choose a vocabulary that best describes your practice (don’t use art speak).
Statements can be used for different purposes so be conscious of the context and tailor it accordingly. For example: A thematic residency might ask you to specify how your work relates to the chosen theme in your statement.
Continue to update your statement as your practice evolves and develops.
Proposal
Writing Guidelines
Start by defining your project and what it entails. Then categorise your text into sections, and write some keywords underneath each section. This will help you answer some questions in order to structure your proposal/project later.
Elements to be considered in your proposal
Topics ︎︎︎ What are the topics or fields of interest in your work? What is your motive? intentions?
Material or mediums ︎︎︎ How do you plan to implement your project in terms of medium or material? Will you work in more than one medium? Where will it take place if it is site-specific?
Themes ︎︎︎ What themes you are addressing in your project? They can be personal, fictional, historical, archival, social or political. How are they linked to one another?
Ideas ︎︎︎ What do you want to achieve from this project? What do you want to highlight? What encouraged you to develop this concept? What is the expected outcome?
Methodology ︎︎︎ How do you plan to work on it? Do you have a research phase? Do you have a production phase? Will you collaborate with other artists, artisans, writers, researchers, entities..etc? Describe your activity plan.
Budget ︎︎︎ What are you seeking funding for? Is it for research-related travels? costs for materials for production? collaboration fees? You should divide your project budget into sections and provide an accurate estimate for your costs. You should also mention if you have received additional funding from elsewhere.
︎ Proposal General Structure
1 Title of the project and a synopsis/brief lines about it.
2 Topics and themes of the project in detail.
3 Phases of the project and how you plan to work on it.
4 Each phase in detail.
5 Timeline of the project (unless there is another specific question for it).
6 Detailed budget (if needed).
Elements to be considered in your proposal
Topics ︎︎︎ What are the topics or fields of interest in your work? What is your motive? intentions?
Material or mediums ︎︎︎ How do you plan to implement your project in terms of medium or material? Will you work in more than one medium? Where will it take place if it is site-specific?
Themes ︎︎︎ What themes you are addressing in your project? They can be personal, fictional, historical, archival, social or political. How are they linked to one another?
Ideas ︎︎︎ What do you want to achieve from this project? What do you want to highlight? What encouraged you to develop this concept? What is the expected outcome?
Methodology ︎︎︎ How do you plan to work on it? Do you have a research phase? Do you have a production phase? Will you collaborate with other artists, artisans, writers, researchers, entities..etc? Describe your activity plan.
Budget ︎︎︎ What are you seeking funding for? Is it for research-related travels? costs for materials for production? collaboration fees? You should divide your project budget into sections and provide an accurate estimate for your costs. You should also mention if you have received additional funding from elsewhere.
︎ Proposal General Structure
1 Title of the project and a synopsis/brief lines about it.
2 Topics and themes of the project in detail.
3 Phases of the project and how you plan to work on it.
4 Each phase in detail.
5 Timeline of the project (unless there is another specific question for it).
6 Detailed budget (if needed).
Supporting
Material
This can range depending on the specific requirements of opportunity, but generally it can include the following:
︎︎︎ Visualisation of the project (sketches, annotations, references, etc.).
︎︎︎ Mood boards, reading lists, podcasts (supplementary material does not have to be strictly visual).
︎︎︎ If your project is an extension or continuation to a previous work, you should present material from your earlier project to explain the relation and the development of the idea.
︎︎︎ If your project is conceptually similar to an earlier work, you should explain how the implementation/production would differ.
︎︎︎ Visualisation of the project (sketches, annotations, references, etc.).
︎︎︎ Mood boards, reading lists, podcasts (supplementary material does not have to be strictly visual).
︎︎︎ If your project is an extension or continuation to a previous work, you should present material from your earlier project to explain the relation and the development of the idea.
︎︎︎ If your project is conceptually similar to an earlier work, you should explain how the implementation/production would differ.