--- title: Quick start guide description: "Create your Artsume account, publish your profile, add your first project, and apply to a program. A ten-minute walkthrough of the whole flow." date: 2026-07-07 updated: 2026-08-25 author: Artsume Team tags: - getting-started - tutorial - basics url: "https://www.artsume.com/docs/quick-start" type: docs --- # Quick start guide # Quick start guide 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 1. Open the [sign-up page](/signup). 2. Enter your full name, your email, and a password. You can also select **Continue with Google**. 3. 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. One account can hold both an artist side and an arts-professional side, and you can add the second one later from Settings. [Artists and arts professionals](/docs/artists-and-professionals) explains how the two fit 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](/docs/setting-up-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. ![The profile checklist tracks what your profile still needs.](https://www.artsume.com/images/docs/demos/checklist-stepper.png) Everyone gets the same four starting steps: a photo, a one-line intro, a location, and a link. If you make work, four more appear for your discipline, your artist statement, your portfolio, and your CV. If you hold the professional side, three more appear for your roles, a short bio, and your first position. → **[Creating your profile](/docs/creating-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. → **[Building your portfolio](/docs/building-portfolio)** ## Find programs on Explore Head to [Explore](/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](/docs/artsume-pro), which emails you when a new program fits it. ![A program card, as it appears on Explore.](https://www.artsume.com/images/docs/demos/program-card.png) The heart on any program card saves it to your [Favorites](/docs/favorites), so you can come back to a deadline without hunting for it again. → **[Applying to programs](/docs/applying-to-programs)** ## 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. → **[Applying to programs](/docs/applying-to-programs)** ## 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. → **[Managing applications](/docs/managing-applications)** ## Grow your network Track an organization to keep its programs coming to you, and connect with the people you actually work with. What you track shapes what your [feed](/docs/feed) shows you. → **[Your network](/docs/your-network)** ## Frequently Asked Questions **Q: I didn't get the confirmation email.** A: 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. **Q: Can I change my handle later?** A: 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. **Q: My image upload keeps failing.** A: 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. **Q: Do I have to be an artist to use Artsume?** A: No. Curators, gallerists, teachers, writers, and other arts professionals get the same page, the same CV, and the same network. Only the portfolio and the artist statement need the artist side. See Artists and arts professionals. **Q: Can I edit an application after I submit it?** A: 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](/docs/artists-and-professionals)**: how one account holds both - **[Creating your profile](/docs/creating-profile)**: intro, links, photos, and details - **[Building your portfolio](/docs/building-portfolio)**: add more projects and present them well - **[Creating your CV](/docs/creating-cv)**: build a professional artist CV - **[Applying to programs](/docs/applying-to-programs)**: the full application walkthrough - **[Settings](/docs/settings)**: notifications, privacy, and billing - **[Best practices](/docs/best-practices)**: tips for stronger applications --- **Find your first program.** [Browse open calls, grants, and residencies on Explore →](/explore)