I’ve been working with a consulting client on his branding, on how he talks about himself. He’s slowly crafting a new artist bio for himself, one that doesn’t just list his achievements, but weaves who he is as a person — and who he is as an artist — together with all the things he’s done.
I find this marvelous. An artist bio as a human document! An artistic statement. Not just a list. With a bio like this we can attract attention to the full picture of who we are. Which I think is good both for our souls and four our careers. We’re approaching the world as the people we really are. Which will, for many people reading the bios (including people we think we need for our careers) mean more than just the usual list of our achievements.
I’m available as a consultant for anyone who wants to approach the world this way. Contact me.
And when I’ve worked with people on this, so often we’re on a voyage of self-discovery.
Some examples of bios that weave professional achievements together with a personal story:
A photographer and photo restorer
A conductor and composer, who’s also a meditation teacher and a homesteader, growing some of his own food (and a consulting client of mine; his bio got him a music director’s job, with an orchestra that wanted everything he is).
The voyage of self- and career-discovery can be difficult at first, because we may not know (I’m including myself in “we”) what’s appropriate to say. But at the end, we might feel that a curtain has been raised, that a burden has been eased.
Speaking of the “list” bios, I remember program notes of a recital, decades ago, where the recitalist listed virtually ALL the jobs he’d held, including fast-food work, painting, door-to-door sales, and more I can’t remember. It could have been read as a parody of the standard “artist bio”. At the time, I chose to read it as a honest portrait of a young musician still working to find his niche in the profession. Anyway, it was entertaining; which is something!
Entertaining is good, especially since among bios simply “readable” would be welcome. And it really is honest to list your non-music jobs. It’s honest, and — what I like in a bio — shows someone as a whole person.