Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae or Resume
For an arts or craft practitioner a curriculum vitae (CV) or resume is a document which outlines information such as their educational qualifications, employment history, skills, interests, exhibitions held and awards, grants and residencies received.

The amount of information presented in the CV will be dependent on a number of things such as:
• the practitioners age and experience
• any other information being sent with the CV and
• the purpose of the communication, ie whether a particular position is being applied for or if the
information is being sent as a ‘cold call’ or being sent as reinforcement for an exhibition
proposal.

Fashions in how to present a CV change, as does whether you should call it a CV or resume, but there are some basic points that remain constant. A CV should:
• contain the practitioner’s name and contact details including an email and web address if
relevant
• be easy to read both in terms of the way information is presented and in the language used.
The type font should be clean and easy to read and the page should have wide margins and
plenty of white space
• be updated regularly and the information refined for each application so that it reflects the
requirements of the particular job or opportunity being sought. Having the information stored on
computer makes this much easier.
• provide information that is to the point
• provide names and contact details of referees or note willingness to supply referees if required
• should be accompanied by a covering letter.
Information on exhibitions etc

A practitioner’s CV will usually list the exhibitions his/her work has been included in, exhibitions s/he has curated or organised, awards, prizes, grants or residencies awarded and membership of professional organisations. It is usual to group each type of professional activity together and to include the name of the exhibition, award etc, the year it was held and information that shows the practitioner’s degree of involvement or recognition, for example, bronze award in the XXX award; solo show as opposed to group show; committee member of X organisation etc.
A list of any reviews received, articles written or other published information should also be included and copies of this information should be included in the portfolio.