When I think of the word "resume" the word that comes to mind is "work" a "job" per say. I never thought of art and resume being two things that go together. I know about art portfolios, but it wasn't until the Creative Infrastructure Workshop held by the Co-Founder of Trucha, Josue Ramirez that had me understand the importance of a CV for artists and even curators.
Having it all laid out in from of me as Josue mentioned education, awards, solo/group shows, interviews you've done, and residencies you've been apart of to name a few examples of what your CV could hold. All of this and more together can be useful for applying for opportunities such as open calls for examples.
As someone who doesn't release their art frequently or speak about it. The idea of a CV for a curator such as myself never crossed my mind. It was all stored in my memory, but now knowing that I note these things down and work on my personal CV has me elated, because I can finally say that I too am an artist. I recall the moment I thought that to myself everyone during introductions were saying "I'm a multidisciplinary artist?" then it became "I'm a multidisciplinary artist too!" Which was very nice to hear, a room full of artists and a few folks acknowledging that they too are artists as well.
Now I have to put my CV together!
I was able to speak to two participants that evening and here's what they had to say about the experience.
Jorge Cruz Saenz shares his experience by first explaining what caught his interest in coming out to the workshop as he mentions " the fact that artists are helping other the artists. I haven't seen this before especially at this level from a non-profit helping other artists have access to some of these resources that are available and just to see a local artist take initiative and do that. It's a great opportunity for artists to collaborate. I looked at it as something, very beneficial for the community."
Jorge continues by mentioning a few highlights he took away from this workshop "well, there's a lot more to it than I ever imagined of what artists have to go through. There's standards that you have to abide by and sometimes you might get overlooked. But if you surround yourselves with people, that could help you along the way. Exposing yourself to trainings, some workshops where you can learn from each other and just evolve together in a in a way that in our fashion in a manner, that's productive to society and the community at large. It's a great initiative to create...You know, a lot of people don't even discuss infrastructure, whatsoever or methodologies or process and It's good to see people that are. Certain standards so that we can hold each other up. Hold each other account if we want to be better artists this is a navigable process. And he's a walking example (Josue)." This is something as mentioned that hasn't crossed my mind before and having it out for the community is an initiative, an opportunity well welcomed. Surrounding ourselves with individuals who wish to grow, learn, and partake in a group effort is amazing to say the least. This CV is just one step out of many for an artist to have by their side, to have completed and most importantly updated throughout time.
Now we have Vivi another participant from the Creative Infrastructure Workshop as she shares on what interested her in signing up for the workshop " well, I'm an artist and I didn't really get formal training on some more like technical aspects on marketing myself as an artist. I know how to make things but I don't know how to put it all down on paper. I personally didn't even know what like the CV was until this point. So I thought that this would be a good place to start." You and me both for real. This was certainly a starting point in professional marking ourselves as an artist, by taking the initiative by coming out and learning. We may be self taught artists or we've taken a few courses for example, but the outer shell being art residencies, art calls, exhibitions whether solo or a collaboration has so many steps we need to essentially start somewhere to get our footing.
Vivi continues by sharing what she personally took away from the workshop "the flexibility I could have as an artist. The different ways that I can organize my statement and my CV." Vivi finishes off by saying " You know, it's not something that I would have thought I could do here like three or four years ago and to be able to do it now is something that I think is really great for local artists/up-and-coming artists, and artists that maybe have some kind of , imposter syndrome. They don't really like consider themselves artists. Yeah, because they haven't had the experience of being in shows and this would be just a great starting point for anybody." It's tough especially walking around with a proper "title" or thinking you're an artists, but what defines an artist? Questions, what you see, and what you hear that lead to imposter syndrome. Do these things come organically? I was given my artist statement when asked for one, but after that I've been slowly putting something for myself together. It's not easy, but after a few years I finally understand what I am.
Josue the facilitator and co-founder of Trucha explains the main point, the purpose of the workshop as he exclaims "That artists really need the basic building blocks of what it takes to be 'a working artist' or what can help with opportunities as a working artist." I would say that the workshop did nail those two points by offering artists the buildings blocks of putting together their CV and by furthering pushing the opportunities a CV can have for an artist for starters.
What would you say are your personal highlights from today as he says "The individuals who were able to participate today, who were interested in furthering their artistry. Participants were asking questions, answering questions, and allowing me to be some sort of guidance through this workshop for them." When I spoke to Viv she felt that the workshop was a "safe space" to her to ask questions on a topic she learning about, a topic she was interested in. Vivi went on to mention that she enjoyed being able to chime in with the atmosphere that was created. Aside from this I heard folks sharing experiences with one another on applying for residencies, open calls, and building confidence as an artist. What brought it all together was the conversations had with one another and the questions asked to Josue regarding the CV and questions the artists may have had on their mind for awhile.
Finally, Josue shares what comes next, " I want to follow up with the artist that attended and see how they've progressed with their CV and to be there to provide guidance on an individual level. " Yes, I plan on working on my CV personally and seeing if any of my friends have worked on theirs. I'd like to share what I have with them and give each other feedback or ideas on what else we could add!
Well thank you for the workshop, looking forward to what comes next.