Quick start guide
Create your Artsume account, publish your profile, add your first project, and apply to a program. A ten-minute walkthrough of the whole flow.
This is the fast path from a brand-new account to your first application. It takes about ten minutes, and each step links to a full guide when you want more detail.
New to Artsume?
Artsume gives you one page that holds your portfolio and your CV, then helps you find and apply to programs: grants, residencies, exhibitions, open calls, fellowships, and jobs. Organizations use Artsume to post those programs and review the applications.
Create your account
- Open the sign-up page.
- Enter your full name, your email, and a password. You can also select Continue with Google.
- Confirm your email. Artsume sends a 6-digit code, and the same email carries a link. Use either one. Both expire in an hour.
Publish your page
Confirming your email lands you on one short step, and everybody passes through it. Artsume asks for a photo, your full name, and a handle, then you select Get started.
That publishes your page at /a/your-handle. There is no separate publish step and no draft to remember. Your name and your handle are the whole bar.
Choose what you came for
With your page live, Artsume asks What brings you to Artsume? and offers three answers:
- Artist: you make and present your own work.
- Arts professional: you work with, discover, support, or hire artists.
- Organization: you represent a gallery, institution, company, or program.
Your answer decides which setup runs next. It does not lock you in. Your roles describe what you do, and you can hold more than one. You can change them later in Settings. Artists and arts professionals explains how roles work on one page.
If you arrived through a link that already said why you came, Artsume skips this question and takes you straight to that setup.
Artists answer three quick screens: disciplines, career stage and location, then an optional CV import, then a first project or two. Arts professionals answer one screen, What do you do?, and pick their roles. If you picked Organization, your path continues in Setting up your organization.
Fill in the rest
Open Profile in the left rail any time to keep going. A checklist in the right rail tracks what your page still needs and links straight to each fix.
Everyone gets the same list. A photo, your location, what you do, a short bio and your first work put you in Explore. A one-line intro, a link, one work in your portfolio and one CV line complete your profile.
Add your first project
Your portfolio lives on the Portfolio tab of your profile. Select the dashed Add work tile, drop in your files, then add a title and a year. Those two fields are the only ones Artsume requires.
You do not pick a work type. Artsume reads what you added and presents the project accordingly, so a set of images becomes an image series and a single track becomes an audio piece.
Good images do a lot of the work here. Use high-quality photos with even lighting, and add extra angles for sculpture and other three-dimensional pieces.
Find programs on Explore
Head to Explore to browse everything open right now. Filter by program type, discipline, location, and deadline, then open a program to read its eligibility, requirements, and dates. Switch between List and Map when place matters. Saving a search you run often is part of Artsume Pro, which emails you when a new program fits it.
The Save button on any program card puts it in your Saved list, so you can come back to a deadline without hunting for it again.
Apply to a program
When a program fits, select Apply now on its page. The form asks for your CV lines and your projects where the program wants them, and you pick which ones to send. Your artist statement and your contact details fill themselves in, and your answers save as you go. Come back later and the button reads Continue application. If the window has closed, it reads Applications closed instead.
Mind the deadline
Many programs stop accepting submissions the moment their deadline passes. Have your materials ready and submit with time to spare.
Track your applications
Every application you start lives in one place, with its current status and any updates from the organization. Applications you make off Artsume can sit there too, so one list covers everything you have out.
Grow your network
Follow an organization to keep its programs coming to you, and connect with the people you actually work with. What you follow shapes what your feed shows you.
Frequently Asked Questions
I didn't get the confirmation email.
It carries a 6-digit code and a link, and either one works. If nothing arrives within a minute or two, check your spam folder, then select Resend code on the screen that appears right after sign-up.
Can I change my handle later?
Yes. Open Edit profile on your profile, or Settings → Account. You can change it once every 30 days, and the handle you claim during setup does not start that clock. Old links stop working after a change, so pick one you like.
My image upload keeps failing.
Artsume takes JPEG, PNG, GIF, WebP, and AVIF images up to 25 MB each. SVG files are not accepted. If a very large photo still won't go through, export it at a smaller size and try again.
Do I have to be an artist to use Artsume?
No. Curators, gallerists, teachers, writers, and other arts professionals get the same page, the same portfolio, the same CV, and the same network. Only the artist statement needs the Artist role. See Artists and arts professionals.
Can I edit an application after I submit it?
No. A submitted Artsume application is read-only, so your answers are locked once it's sent. You can withdraw it if you change your mind, and if the organization asks for more information, you can answer that request. See Managing applications.
Next steps
You're set up. These guides go deeper on each part of Artsume:
- Artists and arts professionals: how one account holds both
- Creating your profile: intro, links, photos, and details
- Building your portfolio: add more projects and present them well
- Creating your CV: build a professional artist CV
- Applying to programs: the full application walkthrough
- Settings: notifications, privacy, and billing
- Best practices: tips for stronger applications
Find your first program. Browse open calls, grants, and residencies on Explore →