How to prepare an artist dossier

Reviewed as of 27 September 2026. If anything has changed, let me know and I will update it with the date of the change.

The dossier is the document that represents you when you are not present: in an open call, in a gallery's inbox, or on the desk of a curator reviewing numerous proposals. Whoever opens it usually spends only a few minutes on it. In that time, they must understand what you do, see it, and know how to find you.

There is no official format. Each open call sets its own requirements and, when it does, those requirements take precedence over any general recommendation.

What it must answer

A good dossier answers three questions quickly: what you do, what the work is like, and who you are. You do not always have to follow that order, but the work should appear before a long biography or a theoretical framework gets in the way of understanding it.

Furthermore, the dossier does not replace a project proposal, a web portfolio, a full curriculum vitae, or a technical report. It may contain elements of all of them, but it must have a defined objective and recipient.

What to include

Cover

Your professional name, the project title or "Dossier", the year or date of update, and a representative image. Add your website or email address if they do not clutter the page. Avoid decorative covers that do not showcase the work.

Table of contents

This is useful when the document exceeds a few pages or brings together several projects. Internal PDF bookmarks assist with navigation but do not replace a visible order.

Artist statement

Between half a page and one page is usually sufficient. Explain the issues that permeate your work, how you address them, and through which languages or materials. Do not turn the statement into a list of adjectives or a complete reconstruction of your influences.

Write with precision. If you use a technical or theoretical term because it is necessary, ensure the context allows it to be understood. Clarity does not require simplifying the work, but rather preventing the reader from having to decipher the prose before viewing it.

Selection of work

This is the core of the document. Select the pieces that support the application or the contact. Ten or twenty images may work in a general dossier, but that is not a rule: an open call may require fewer, and an installation project may need more views.

Each work must include a consistent entry:

• title;
• year;
• technique and materials;
• dimensions or duration;
• edition, if applicable;
• photo credit, when necessary.

For installations, interventions, performances, video, or digital pieces, combine general views, details, and the information necessary to understand the scale, space, or temporality. If an image is a simulation or a montage, indicate it.

Projects

If you are bringing together several projects, open each one with a brief text: starting question, development, media, and current status. Avoid repeating in each caption what is already explained in the general text.

For video, sound, or interactive work, include a still image and a direct link. Indicate duration, year, and password if applicable. Check the links before sending and do not force the reader to leave the dossier to view all essential content.

Short curriculum vitae

Order it from most recent to oldest and distinguish relevant categories: solo exhibitions, group exhibitions, education, grants, residencies, awards, collections, publications, or commissions. Include only what provides context to the recipient.

If your career is short, do not inflate it. A brief and verifiable list is better than a long one filled with minor education, irrelevant activities, or ambiguous categories.

Biography

A biography of between 80 and 150 words is usually sufficient for a general dossier. Do not repeat the entire CV. Summarise the practice, professional location if relevant and some milestones that help to situate it.

Contact

Include email, website and professional profiles that you keep updated. It is not necessary to publish an address, personal telephone number or other data that are not required. Contact details should appear at the beginning or at the end and may be repeated discreetly in the footer.

Editing and sequencing

Selection does not consist solely of choosing the best works. It must construct a narrative. Open with an image capable of situating the work, alternate between general views and details when useful, and conclude with a piece that does not appear to be an afterthought. If you mix series, make the transition clear.

Ensure that the design does not compete with the work. Maintain consistent typefaces, margins, captions and sizes. Do not stretch images or crop essential details to make them fit. Verify that colours and proportions are reasonably accurate.

Format and accessibility

Unless the guidelines state otherwise, use a single PDF. It must open on a telephone and on a computer without broken fonts or misaligned pages.

• Use a recognisable name, for example Name_Surname_Dossier_2026.pdf.
• Optimise images without compromising their quality.
• Respect the page and file size limits.
• Insert descriptive links and verify that they function.
• Add alternative text when the PDF creation system permits it.
• Maintain sufficient contrast, legible body text and a clear reading order.
• Include the date of the update and remove metadata or internal comments before sending.

Do not protect the file with a password unless requested. It may prevent review, indexing or opening on certain platforms.

A version for each destination

Maintain a master dossier and prepare a specific version from it.

• Call for entries. Follow the guidelines, respond to their criteria and retain proof of the version sent.
• Gallery. Review their programme, artists and type of professional relationship. Do not simulate affinity if it does not exist.
• Curator or institution. Prioritise works related to the research or project and provide details on loans, installation or availability where appropriate.
• Press or communication. Prepare a separate package with a biography, authorised images, captions, credits and conditions of use.

Adapting does not mean changing your practice to please the recipient. It means choosing which part of your work best allows them to understand why you are writing to them.

What to remove

• images that are poor or inconsistent with current work;
• works included only to increase the number of pages;
• theoretical texts that do not assist in understanding specific decisions;
• laudatory quotes without a source or that are of no use to the recipient;
• lists of adjectives describing your own work;
• broken links, QR codes as the sole means of access or expired passwords;
• unnecessary personal data;
• prices, unless the document is commercial and the recipient requires them;
• internal notes, revision marks and duplicate pages.

Review before sending

1. Check the guidelines and the requested file name.
2. Review spelling, dates, titles, measurements and credits.
3. Open the PDF on a telephone and on another computer.
4. Test all links without being logged in.
5. Confirm that the document is understood without oral explanation.
6. Ask someone who does not know the project to read it.
7. Save the version sent with the date and recipient.

Keeping it alive

Update the dossier after finishing a series, documenting an exhibition or incorporating a relevant milestone, not when the deadline is about to close. If you maintain an inventory of work, preparing the dossier consists of selecting and ordering, not reconstructing data.

On the open conversation

This guide gathers professional practice criteria, not universal rules. Each call for entries, gallery or institution may request a different structure. If you receive dossiers as a curator, gallerist or juror and notice something that should be added or removed, the guide remains open.

Sources

Professional practice guide. For each submission, the guidelines of the call and the instructions of the recipient take precedence.