The internet may be an all-consuming vortex, but it is a very important one. Whether you like it or not, it is essential to have some kind of presence online if you are hoping to develop your career as a professional artist.

Think of your digital presence like that saying: “if a tree falls in a forest, and no one is around to hear it, did it really make a sound?”. If you’re not putting your work out into the world, how can you expect people to know you exist? We hate to break it to you, but you can’t just rely on your  physical exhibitions to give you new opportunities - you need to be sharing your work across multiple platforms, including digital ones. This allows those outside your network to easily discover your work, including curators, gallerists and other collaborators. Promoting yourself can be uncomfortable and awkward, however it is essential in building an audience and vital professional connections. 

There are no straightforward rules and requirements when it comes to having a digital presence as an artist, but don’t let that scare you! Just as every artist’s work is different, so too will be an artist’s digital platforms. Here is a rough guide of essentials to get you started.

Social Media is probably the easiest way to maintain an online presence, and most of you probably already use it in some capacity. The way in which you use social networking platforms and social media tools will vary depending on your practice and what your ‘end goal’ is in creating art (i.e. If you are a conceptual artist whose work is quite site specific and research-based, you would take a very different approach to social media compared to a commercial artist who creates more illustrative works for sale). 

Social media provides a great way for your followers and industry professionals to gain behind the scenes access to your practice and follow your career as an artist. We understand that some artists resist social media, but it really is essential to your professional practice that you at least have an Instagram account. You can share completed works, works in progress, experimentation and research, upcoming exhibitions and collaborations, or other things relevant to your practice. Social media often requires daily or weekly time commitment including uploading content, and engaging with other accounts. It is relatively low-cost, with the only cost being optional paid promotional opportunities.

The main platforms used by artists nowadays are Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok. There is no denying that Instagram is the favourite at the moment for artists, and is the main place we go to look for new artists.

Facebook isn’t really as important anymore, and is definitely a dying platform, but it depends on your practice and reasons for using social media as to whether you engage with it or not. Facebook can be a good place to market works for sale, share links, and publicise upcoming exhibitions or events. It also offers some great groups and pages to follow, such as Australian Printmakers and Sydney Printmakers, for a sense of community and a forum to keep you updated on news and opportunities within the local printmaking sector. The algorithm tends to favour posts or engagement from personal accounts rather than businesses, so don’t expect to get a huge amount from your posts unless you’re willing to put in a bit more time and money.

TikTok is a platform that we personally haven’t really engaged with, but we do know that it can offer a great sense of community, and can spread your art far and wide. Many artists use this platform as an opportunity to show behind-the-scenes insight into their processes, research or experimentation. If you’re already sharing video content on your Instagram or Facebook page, it might be a good idea to consider sharing it on TikTok too.

In addition to content sharing platforms, it is worth considering other networking platforms such as LinkedIn and The Loop. These platforms focus more on employment connections, which may not seem to complement the structure of the arts industry, but can still grow your network and put you in touch with the right people to further your practice.

Instagram

There are two popular approaches to Instagram accounts: separate personal and professional accounts, or one combined account. If you can’t be bothered to manage two accounts, just use one! But if you’re likely to just be posting thirst traps, stories of your ~wild nights out~ and irrelevant memes with maybe one art post every blue moon - you’re probably better off just keeping your personal life and art life separate. Both are viable options, it just depends what works better for you. Both need to balance professionalism and personality.

To get the most out of Instagram, try to use the different posting tools as much as possible, whilst still being true to your brand. Posts and stories are great for your followers, but IGTV and Reels (which are really the flavour of the month) will send your content even further into the cybersphere, and garner widespread engagement. 

Although great for showcasing your work and studio practice, the platform does have its downfalls. You have very likely heard the term ‘algorithm’ when talking about Instagram, and to put it simply, this refers to the way in which posts are curated into your news feeds and explore pages. Posts that are favoured by the algorithm are more likely to be shown to a wider audience. Instagram’s algorithm is constantly changing and currently* favours posts likely to get interactions (e.g. photos with people rather than images with text). If you are having trouble with the platform we recommend doing some research into it, there are plenty of blog posts and articles out there that break it down for you. 

*Written in August 2021.

This might seem obvious, but it is really important to post on your social media platforms. There is nothing more painful than when you are looking for recent examples of an artist’s work, and their most recent Instagram post is from 6 months ago. 

When using platforms like Instagram, we often think “I’m not making anything new or doing any shows, so I don’t have anything to post”. This is so incorrect! Stop thinking like this! If you have a backlog of images from a previous show, old sketches that you’re interested in at the moment, exhibitions you’ve visited, or some fancy photos from your studio - share them. You might not be sharing ground breaking new content or artworks, but you are showing potential curators or galleries that you are still active as an artist and open to opportunities, even if you haven’t made something new for a while. By consistently posting to your social media (even if it’s just once a fortnight), you are exposing yourself to new people and allowing your platform to grow. 

Your social media accounts are specific to you and your audience should be able to see that through not just visual aesthetics but also in the way you caption your posts, share on stories, engage with other accounts etc. Your art practice can’t exist without you, so don’t be afraid to post on Instagram with a personal voice and your own pizazzy flair - it will more often than not, compliment your work. 

Link in bio - at the very least, your website should be linked in your bio. If you find you start having to choose between URLs, it’s time to consider a platform like Linktree. It's free, easy to use, and allows you to link all your relevant websites, accounts, projects and online exhibitions! Click here for some other options.

Good genuine captions - There is nothing more satisfying than a good caption, but you don’t always have to come up with something funny or poetic. Keep it simple, genuine and true to how you would normally talk about your work. 

Use Alt Text - Alt Text or Alternative Text is a short description of what is an image, and is super helpful for individuals who might use a screen reader for social media platforms. Learn more about Alt text here.

Hashtags - Hashtags can be quite a divisive topic, but they can be very beneficial in getting more engagement on your posts and gaining new followers. The trick is to look for tags that are popular, relevant and not too specific. If you don’t like how they look, consider adding some line spaces after your caption or adding them in the first comment of your post. You can always remove them from your caption after a day or too to clean things up!

You don’t just have to share your art - Content doesn’t have to be just photos of final artworks staged in a gallery. Maybe share a photo of you in your making space, works in progress, or videos of your process (Instagram: if you share them as a Reel or IGTV they don’t have to be included in your profile grid).

Don’t let the likes get you down - It can be discouraging when your posts don’t get as many likes as normal or your follower count just isn’t budging. Social media can be a bit of a nightmare, but keep at it and if something isn’t generating new engagement, consider spicing it up and trying a new approach to your socials (i.e. posting at a different time in the day, share a different type of image, follow some new accounts, or try new hashtags).

Take the pressure off - Although your social media platforms are a reflection of your practice and ‘important people’ will be looking at them, remember that they are just social media platforms. Don’t stress over everything being perfect all the time - it’s an informal portfolio, so treat it that way.

Having a website is vital in maintaining a digital presence in the art world, as it provides in-depth information about you and your practice to potential collaborators, such as curators, gallerists and other artists. In most cases, it should be more formal and informative than your social media accounts.  For those who haven't met you, your website is a strong indicator of your professionalism.

As a platform, a website has greater capacity to display the breadth of your practice as it doesn’t have the limitations social media has and enables more options for text, images and video display. Subsequently, this should allow you to provide more information about your practice in the past, present and future. 

Acknowledgement of Country

Firstly, it is very good practice to include an Acknowledgement of Country on your webpage, either in the footer of your website, on your about page, or as a cover page upon entry to your website.

Portfolio -  Artworks/ collections/ series/ exhibitions 

Your website actively serves as a digital version of your portfolio and provides an opportunity for others to see your completed works, as well as inform them of ongoing and upcoming projects. In this way, you may want to include an exhibition poster or graphic on your homepage if an event is coming up soon. Your portfolio should be the most content heavy section of your website, acting as an archive of your practice. It is imperative to use good photography throughout your website. You may also wish to include other facets of your work including commissioning, curatorial projects, design works and arts work (if relevant). 

Your portfolio should  include: 

• Your artworks - this should include images of your most resolved artworks, and may be categorised by individual works, series of works, exhibitions, or by year of production. You want to have your most recent work to be most prominent. If a work has been exhibited, you may want to include documentation of the work installed in situ.

• Full artwork citations - this is very important so that curators and gallerists who may want to use the work in an exhibition can fully understand the nature of the work and how much space they may need to allocate to you. Remember to credit the photographer! 

• An artwork statement - you may want to include this alongside the images to provide further information about the context of the work, your intentions and its conceptual premise.

• Press - if any of your projects have received any media coverage you may want to include this on the corresponding artwork page. Press could include interviews, articles or reviews as some examples. You can either link to the website where the media is published, or you can include a copy of the press (if you have permission). If you have received media coverage as an artist, you may want to create a new page or section dedicated to this in addition to listing it in your CV. For example, anyone who has been interviewed by MTR for an Artist Profile can include this in their press segment, as it is more general and not dedicated to a singular project.  

• Collaborations - you may want to include projects made in collaboration with another artist, initiative or organisation. This should include similar info as you would for an artwork. If possible, link your collaborators by including their social media links and/ or their website. Please note you should always seek permission before including someone else's work on your website (documentation, collaborations, articles etc.)   

About

It is important to include an about page on your website to provide an overall context to who you are as an artist - what you do, what you are interested in, and what you have done in the past. 

On this page include: 

• A high resolution, professional photo of you - it doesn’t necessarily need to be a traditional headshot, but should present you as a professional artist. This could include you in your studio, making, or in front of your work. 

• A biography - a factual piece of writing that outlines important biographical data and key achievements in your practice to date. This is a summary of your curriculum vitae (CV), however it is used to highlight only the most impressive details of your education, prior experiences, achievements, and activities as a professional artist. A personal website is one of few circumstances where you can choose whether to write this prose in first or third person.

• Some artists like to also include an artist statement - a short, personalised text that describes the key concerns of your practice.

• A typed CV or a link to a ‘hidden’ page or PDF.

• Links to your socials or other collaborations you may be involved in. 

Contact

A website is an important tool for others to explore your practice and consider potential collaborations, therefore it is vital to provide people with a means of contacting you. This could include having your contact information linked throughout the website, on your about page, or have a separate page dedicated to contacting you. 

On this page include: 

• Email address - if you haven’t got one already, opt for an email address that you wouldn’t be afraid to say out lout to your grandma, e.g. sexyprintmakerbabe101@gmail.com would not be considered as professional as jane.doe@printstudios.com or janedoe.art@gmail.com 

• Social links - you may want to include links to your social media platforms as alternative ways to contact you. These can also be added to headers and footers as icons.

• Contact number (optional).

• You may like to include a contact form on this page that links to your email address (optional). In most instances this will keep your email address anonymous until you reply back.

Hot Tips

• Make it a habit to regularly update your website. There is nothing worse than going to an artist’s website and they haven’t updated their information in a while! It can come across as unprofessional. A curator or collaborator shouldn’t have to fill in the gaps in your practice, it should be readily accessible. We have found the most commonly outdated information tends to be CV’s, biographies and project pages. 

• If you have any external links on your website regularly check that these are functioning and aren’t outdated. If your website platform also allows it, set your hyperlinks to open in a new tab on your web browser. It can be frustrating looking at an artist’s website and being redirected elsewhere and losing your place. 

• Have good quality scans or copies of any media reviews or articles you may be externally linking to have a record, as they may be taken offline unexpectedly in the future. 

Commissions

If you offer a commissioning service, you may want to have a separate page dedicated to it. This should include examples, pricing estimates, how to contact you, and if possible testimonials (this will be dependent on the nature of your practice). 

Curatorial Projects

If you have worked as a curator alongside your practice, you may want to include these projects as part of your portfolio on your website. This could take a similar format as your artwork pages, by being broken down by exhibition/project or by year. 

For each exhibition you should include:

• The title of the exhibition.

• A list of the artists involved.

• Where and when the exhibition took place.

• Exhibition documentation - including full citations of the artworks depicted and an image credit to the photographer.

• An exhibition description - often you will have a variety of lengths available for different platforms. For you website, preferably use the longest version to provide more information.

• Publications - many exhibitions have an accompanying exhibition catalogue and/or curator’s essay. If available, these should be linked on the appropriate page as either another webpage or a PDF document. 

• Press - if your exhibition/project has received any media coverage you may want to include this on the corresponding page. Press could include interviews, articles, previews or reviews as some examples. You can either link to the website where the media is published, or you can include a copy of the press instead.

Design Work

Like many artists in the economically precarious art world, you may have commercial design work alongside your arts practice to pay the bills. If this is something you do, you may want to include examples of your design work on your website (this could be a separate visible page on your menu, or a button on your about page that goes to a hidden page). This demonstrates your diverse skills to industry professionals who may want to contract you for design projects, such as exhibition catalogues, marketing and promotional collateral, exhibition invitations, etc.

You can include: 

• Samples or images of your design work - this could be in the form of highlights or perhaps a PDF document. 

• Contextual information - who or what was the project for, and when was it made?

The design of your website should reflect your personal brand, and compliment your work. It is worth approaching your design as a combination of an online solo exhibition, and an artwork in itself. However, simplicity is the key. The purpose of your website is for visitors to gain more in depth insight into your practice than on social media, so your portfolio should always be the hero.

Hot Tips

• Simple, clean and consistent - everything should compliment your work.

• User experience - make sure your site is easy to navigate, your portfolio and ‘About’ information must be easy to find.

• Slowly build your big ideas - if you have big design ideas, it’s best to start simple, and gradually introduce new elements to make sure that your portfolio remains the hero of your site, rather than being overwhelmed by other visual elements. Resist adding elements and features just because they seem cool. Always ask yourself “does this support my work?”

• Fonts - we recommend a maximum of three over your whole site. Commit to either Serif or Sans Serif fonts - using both can feel cluttered and outdated.

• Colour - again, we recommend starting with a maximum of three. Colour is a great way to add in your personality and create interest in your design, but make sure that the colours you select tone with your work.

• Most website building platforms will automatically format a mobile friendly version of your website, but remember to double check that your edits have translated appropriately.

As with everything, there is no ‘best’ way to build your website, it is personal preference and you have a few options to choose from. If you have web development skills, or the funds to hire someone who does, you can build your site ‘from the ground up’. However the most popular options for artist websites are content management systems (CMS) such as a blogging site, like Tumblr, or website building platforms such as Squarespace or Wix.

Blog style websites, such as Tumblr, offer an interactive alternative to a traditional website. Visitors can engage with your content in a similar way to your social media, but with the opportunity to access more information and gain a broader understanding of your practice.

Here at MTR, we have opted to use a website building platform, specifically Squarespace, for our official and personal websites. Squarespace and Wix (the two most popular platforms) offer a ‘drag and drop’ approach to designing your website, making them very intuitive and aesthetic. Below is a brief comparison of the two platforms to start your research into which is best for you, or take a look at this article.

• Keep your identity consistent and professional across platforms, so the style and ideas that make you and your work unique are communicated and reinforced through multiple channels. This includes both social and professional networking sites and your website/s.

• While most artists have numerous crossovers between personal and professional networks, it is important that you project an image of professionalism of your practice into the digitally accessible world.

• Communication is vital to nourish the connections you make through your digital presence. Replying promptly is harder than it sounds, but is worth making sure that you do. Not only does it make you seem more professional, but you never know how this connection could lead to opportunities. 

• If there are a lot of people who share the same name as you, use keywords (such as ‘artist’ or your location, practice, gallery, exhibition title) on your site, on social networks, and through any other online profiles , which will enable search engines to distinguish you from your namesakes. 

• Create cross links between your website and the sites of friends and colleagues, social networking, blogs and other online platforms. This will enable search engines to bring your results to the top page of a web search. 

• Your email signature comes under the umbrella of digital presence. This is a good opportunity to include your contact information and links to your social media platforms and website. 

• Some artists have an option on their website to join a mailing list where they send regular newsletters or notifications about upcoming exhibitions, and current works in progress. Not an essential element to have in your online presence, but it can be a fun way to engage with your audience and stay in touch with people who might not have social media. 

If you want more information, or more definitive advice, be sure to check out NAVA’s extensive guides. Unfortunately these are behind a paywall so will require a subscription to access (it’s worth it!).

• Social Media 

  This factsheet helps you decide which social media platform is right for you and your practice

• Creating a Website

  This factsheet guides you through how to make your own website, what to consider if engaging a designer, and how to prioritise your content.

• Selling Work Online

  This factsheet guides you through the process of online sales and selling through your own website, written by Art Pharmacy.

• Marketing & Presenting Yourself and Your Work