Writing clear and effective Artist Statements will be integral to your coursework as well as help you apply for jobs, grants, and internships.
Your artist statement acts as an introduction to your work. A good artist statement will complement and encourage further engagement with your work. A good starting point is to reflect on the below prompts.
[From Lisa Congdon's Art Inc.]
Artist Statements are written in the first person, you are describing your point of view during the creation of your work. Tailor your statement for your audience. While an artist statement for a class can include the jargon of the discipline, an artist statement for a gallery show should be more accessible.
GYST and EBSQ both offer helpful pages on writing artist statements and have examples from contemporary and self-representing artists.
Similarly, try searching for the online portfolio of your favorite contemporary artist to see how they represent themselves. Galleries that host multiple artist's work will often have bios or artist statements attached to the artist's name.