Artquest Exchange groups are spaces for artists with shared interests, practices or needs to connect, communicate and support each other online. 

Groups are artist-led and can take many forms. For example it could be a group for: 

  • recently graduated painters who want to share work and receive feedback 
  • artists returning to practice after a career break wanting to set up regular peer mentoring sessions 
  • sharing advice on funding applications 
  • socially engaged practitioners looking to exchange knowledge 
  • alumni of a particular university or programme 
  • international artists to share experiences of working in different countries 

Artquest Exchange groups are currently in a testing phase. As we develop and refine how groups work, you may encounter some issues or changes. 

We appreciate your patience and feedback as we continue to improve the experience. 

Starting a group 

If you’d like to start a group, please first check the list of existing groups to make sure your idea doesn’t already exist.

If a similar group is already running, we encourage you to join and contribute to it. If membership of a group is by invitation only reach out and request an invite from the group moderator via the Artquest Exchange message function.  

If there are no existing groups like the one you are proposing, complete the form below and a member of the Artquest team will review your request. Approved groups are typically set up within 5 working days. We may get in touch to ask for further information if necessary. 

Before applying, please read our code of conduct to ensure your suggestion aligns with it. 

What we’re looking for 

To help create a strong and sustainable community, we ask that: 

  • Your group has a clear purpose and focus 
  • Your group has a clear code of conduct that aligns with our own.  
  • You are willing to take on a leading role in initiating and maintaining activity 
  • The group is for visual artists, as defined in our guidance 
  • The group does not duplicate existing groups 

Group activity and responsibility 

Group creators are expected to take an active role in encouraging participation and discussion, particularly in the early stages. 

To ensure the platform remains active and useful for artists, groups that are inactive for more than three months may be archived or removed.

Submit a request to set up a group

ARTQUEST EXCHANGE: Create a group
What is the name of your proposed group? This will be visible to other Artquest Exchange members (for public groups) and to anyone you invite.
Provide a short description of the group’s purpose. This will be visible to other Artquest Exchange members (for public groups) and to anyone you invite. Try to clearly explain what the group is for and what members can expect.
Describe the intended members of the group (e.g. artists at a particular career stage, working in a specific medium, or with shared interests). This will be visible to other Artquest Exchange members (for public groups) and to anyone you invite.
Group visibility
Artquest Exchange’s compulsory codes of conduct for all groups is included above. If there are there any additional specific behaviours or expectations you would like members of your group to follow, and them at the bottom. This will be visible to other Artquest Exchange members (for public groups) and to anyone you invite.
Is there any other information that you feel it would be useful to share with potential members?

Maximum file size: 1MB

Upload an image here to represent your group. Images should be in jpg or jpeg or png files and be no larger than 1MB. This will be visible to other Artquest Exchange members (for public groups) and to anyone you invite.
Data permission
I understand that the data that I submit here will be kept securely on servers in the UK and used for the purposes of communicating about Artquest Exchange only as long as my profile is active.