A peer mentoring group is a regular gathering of artists who support each other.
A group might talk about their art practice, their careers, or other professional or cultural developments. It is similar to the ‘crits’ that you might have experienced if you went to art school.
Benefits of peer mentoring
Peer mentoring groups can give you:
- critical feedback on your art work and work-in-progress.
- help and encouragement on the practical day-to-day life of an artist. This validation can help combat isolation and self-doubt.
- practical information, like recommendations for framers, materials suppliers, or ways to approach galleries.
- better networks of artists, curators, writers or other arts professionals. This is helpful in finding out about opportunities that suit your work.
This is a resource by artist and tutor Edwina Fitzpatrick. It stimulates thinking on support networks and structures new graduates need when starting out.
It focuses on
- how to increase and develop support systems from peers at all stages
- how by supporting fellow practitioners, your practice will also develop
The resource below is for artists looking to set up their own peer mentoring group. If you’re interested in joining a group that is already established, there are a number of open crit groups instead.
Artist Chloe Cooper has prepared a guide to setting up and running a peer support group. This was prepared as part of BNC Mentors, our partnership with New Contemporaries.
Artist experiences of peer mentoring
You can get an idea of peer mentoring groups in artists own works. If you have time, listen to with artists interviews below to find out about artists experiences of peer mentoring. These interviews were part of Artquest’s Peer Forum programme, now closed.
Artist Lewis Bush is a photographer, writer and researcher who’s work focuses on the activities of powerful organisations, technologies and agents.
Artist Will Clifford talks about his experiences of peer mentoring.
Sarah Rowles, director of Q-Art, introduces the art crit from her research
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