Home Visual Artist Resume template
Visual Artist resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what visual artists actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most visual artists should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Visual artist with a studio practice spanning painting, printmaking and digital work, producing original pieces for exhibition, commission and sale. Comfortable running the whole cycle of a project, from concept development and material research through to installation, client liaison and documentation. Works freelance with a disciplined studio routine and a clear record of exhibition, commission and online sales outcomes.
Key skills
- Concept development and visual research
- Painting, printmaking and mixed media production
- Digital and analogue image making
- Commission management from brief to installation
- Exhibition planning and hanging
- Artist statements, proposals and grant applications
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Procreate
- Blender
- Adobe Fresco
- Client relationships and negotiation
- Studio operations, materials safety and stock control
- Online sales, packing and dispatch
Experience: example bullet points
- Developed a cohesive body of work for a solo exhibition, building a series of large-scale canvases and companion prints from initial concept drawings through to final hang.
- Managed a public art commission end to end, coordinating the brief, fabrication, site access and installation and delivering the finished work on the agreed date.
- Built a documented materials and process record covering pigments, substrates and finishes, which allowed editions and commissioned works to be repeated accurately.
- Prepared exhibition and funding applications with artist statements, budgets and support imagery, resulting in shows at artist-run initiatives and a regional gallery.
- Ran online print sales directly, handling photography, listings, packing and customer enquiries and growing repeat buyers over successive releases.
- Researched historical references and tested unfamiliar media on sample panels before committing to a major work, avoiding rework on several large commissions.
- Maintained studio compliance with safe handling, ventilation and disposal of solvents and dusts, reducing incidents and cutting wasted material.
- Liaised with gallery staff, framers and installers to schedule exhibitions and resolve last-minute layout changes without delaying opening night.
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts or Bachelor of Visual Arts is the most common qualification, with a TAFE pathway through the Diploma of Visual Arts (CUA51120) or Certificate III in Visual Arts widely used by studio-based artists. Entry to the occupation is not formally regulated in Australia, so a strong portfolio and exhibition record matter as much as the qualification itself.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Visual artist
- Bachelor of Fine Arts
- Diploma of Visual Arts CUA51120
- Certificate III in Visual Arts
- artist statement
- exhibition proposal
- artist-run initiative
- consignment agreement
- public art commission
- site-specific work
- Creative Australia
- NAVA Code of Practice
- sole trader ABN and GST
- public liability insurance
- printmaking
- sculpture
- oil and acrylic painting
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Procreate
- Blender
- Adobe Fresco
- WHS and safety data sheets
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.