Your first artist portfolio: make it clear

A portfolio should help someone understand your work and assess a proposal without searching for missing information. Build a base version, then adapt it to the destination.

Start with the reader

A residency may want a future project; an exhibition needs existing works and installation requirements. Read the submission rules first. Their page, file-size, language and anonymity requirements take priority.

Use a clear structure

• Cover: artist name, project title and one representative image.
• Introduction: what you investigate and how you work.
• Selection: six to ten works unless the rules specify otherwise.
• Proposal: what you want to make or show and what it requires.
• Background: relevant, accurate experience.
• Contact: a monitored email address and a working link.

Choose works that belong together. A short, honest selection is enough when you are starting.

Label every work

Include title, year, medium, support and dimensions in a consistent order. State whether dimensions include the frame. Describe variable installations or separate panels clearly. Label room simulations and keep accurate photographs alongside them.

Write plainly

Explain what you observe, how you respond and which decisions matter. Read the text aloud. Remove vague claims and let the images carry part of the explanation.

Check before sending

Open the PDF on a phone and a computer. Check readability, image proportions, links and the required file size. Ask someone to find a medium, a measurement and your email quickly. Keep a dated copy of each submitted version.

Keep the introduction short

Introduce yourself, name the project, explain why it fits the recipient’s programme and provide one link. Use the designated submission channel. Record responses and improve the portfolio as you learn.