Written by Paul Worrall
Nearly a decade at ARTdiscount taught me that a genuinely huge proportion of regular art buyers in the UK belong to a local club — it’s often where people first got serious about painting, and it’s usually the reason they keep buying supplies regularly rather than letting a hobby quietly fade. London has an unusually wide range, from grand historic societies with real exhibition pedigree through to relaxed weekly groups meeting in a church hall for a few pounds a session.
I’m Paul Worrall. I spent nearly a decade running digital marketing for ARTdiscount, one of the UK’s largest online art retailers, and I now run Discount Art Supplies — a price comparison platform used by over 41,000 UK artists every week. Here’s an honest breakdown of where to actually look, whichever end of that range appeals to you.
The Historic Societies: Mall Galleries and the Federation of British Artists
The Federation of British Artists, based at Mall Galleries near Trafalgar Square, is an umbrella for nine separate art societies with over 500 members between them, all working in contemporary figurative art. It includes the New English Art Club, founded back in 1886 as an alternative to the Royal Academy, and the Hesketh Hubbard Art Society, which is genuinely the largest life drawing society in London. Membership here works differently to a local club — it’s generally through selection and exhibition submission rather than simply paying an annual fee — but the FBA also runs open submissions accepting work from the public, so it’s importent to check current entry routes if this level of society appeals to you.
The Welcoming Option: London Sketch Club
Founded in 1898 by a group of commercial artists and illustrators of the day, the London Sketch Club in Chelsea is a genuinely lively private members’ club that also welcomes non-members to its regular Thursday life drawing and portrait sessions. It sits somewhere between the grandeur of the historic societies and a casual local group — proper history and a real studio setting, but a relaxed, convivial atmosphere rather than anything formal or intimidating.
Finding Your Nearest Local Club
For most people, though, the genuinely useful option is a small, local weekly club rather than a historic society. The SAA’s art club directory lists over 1,500 UK-affiliated clubs, searchable by postcode, and London has a consistantly good spread across almost every borough. These are the groups that meet in community halls, church rooms and local studios, usually weekly or fortnightly, working across whatever medium members fancy rather than following a set curriculum.
Membership fees at this level are genuinely affordable — typically somewhere between £15 and £60 a year, plus a small per-session fee often in the £4 to £8 range, with most clubs happy to let a visitor attend a session or two before committing to join.
Art Club or Life Drawing Class?
Worth being clear on the difference before you go looking: an art club is a broader, ongoing social group working in whatever medium members choose, usually without a tutor directing the session. If it’s specifically figure drawing from a model you’re after, that’s more accurately a life drawing class, and I’ve covered where to find those separately in my Life Drawing Classes in London guide.
FAQ
How much does it cost to join an art club in London?
Local neighbourhood clubs are genuinely affordable, often somewhere between £15 and £60 a year plus a small per-session fee of around £4 to £8. Historic societies affiliated with the Federation of British Artists tend to work differently, generally through selection and exhibition membership rather than a simple annual fee.
Do I need to be an experienced artist to join a London art club?
No. Most local clubs welcome all skill levels and are genuinely social as much as they are about improving technically. The more prestigious historic societies do involve a selection process, but that’s the exception rather than the rule.
What’s the difference between an art club and a life drawing class?
An art club is generally an ongoing, social group of hobbyist and semi-professional artists meeting regularly to paint together in whatever medium they choose, often without formal tuition. A life drawing class specifically centres on drawing from a model, sometimes with a tutor present.
Whichever club you join, it’s worth a quick check on materials prices before you stock up — they vary more across UK retailers than people expect. At Discount Art Supplies we compare prices across all the major UK art retailers in real time, so you can find the best current deal before your first session.
