Last updated: April 2026
There’s one in Poulton-le-Fylde where I live. It meets at the Methodist church on a weekday morning — a group of mostly older artists who bring their own materials, set up their easels, paint for a couple of hours and have a natter over a cup of tea. Nobody’s trying to be Picasso. Nobody’s judging anyone else’s work. It’s just a group of people who enjoy making things and enjoy each other’s company while they do it.
I’ve spent 16 years in the UK art supplies industry and one of the things I’ve learned in that time is that local art clubs like this one are genuinely the beating heart of amateur art in this country. They’re not glamorous. They don’t have Instagram accounts. They’re not featured in magazine articles about the creative economy. They just quietly get on with it week after week, year after year, providing something that’s increasingly rare — a regular, low pressure reason to make something with your hands surrounded by people who get it.
If you’re looking for an art club near you, this guide will help you find one. Whether you’re looking for art clubs for adults, art clubs for kids, after school art clubs for teens or just a friendly local craft group — here’s where to look and what to expect.
Why Join an Art Club in the First Place?
It’s a fair question. You can paint at home. You can watch tutorials on YouTube. You can join online communities. So why bother getting in the car on a cold Tuesday morning to sit in a church hall and paint alongside a group of strangers?
A few reasons that might surprise you:
Accountability. When you paint at home, it’s easy to never quite get round to it. When you’ve paid your membership and told Margaret you’ll be there on Thursday, you go. The habit is built for you.
Feedback. Not formal critique — just the casual observation of someone who’s been painting for 30 years saying “that shadow is doing something interesting, have you thought about lifting the edge?” That kind of incidental knowledge transfer happens naturally in a group setting and is worth more than most tutorials.
Community. My kids Zach and Nancy are at the age where they’re starting to do their own things — clubs, activities, groups. Watching them build those social connections has reminded me how important it is for adults too. Art clubs are full of people who showed up on their own one day not knowing anyone and now couldn’t imagine their week without it.
And honestly, for a lot of members of the clubs I’ve encountered over the years, particularly older members, it’s one of the main social events of their week. That matters more than the painting.
How to Find Art Clubs Near You in the UK
Finding local art clubs near you is easier than you might think — they just don’t advertise very loudly. Here’s where to look:
The SAA Club Directory — the Society for All Artists maintains a directory of over 1,500 affiliated art clubs across the UK at community.saa.co.uk/art-clubs. This is the best single resource for finding local art clubs near you anywhere in the country. Search by location and you’ll find clubs you never knew existed five minutes from your house.
Facebook local groups — search “[your town] art club”, “[your town] painting group” or “[your area] artists” on Facebook. Most local art clubs have a Facebook presence even if they don’t have a website. Your local community Facebook group is also worth posting in — someone will know.
Noticeboards — libraries, village halls, churches, community centres. This sounds old fashioned but art clubs tend to recruit the old fashioned way. The Poulton one I mentioned is advertised on a noticeboard at the church where it meets. You’d never find it online.
Your local council — most councils maintain a directory of local groups and clubs. Search “[your council] community groups” and look for arts and crafts sections.
The Arts Society — if you’re interested in the more structured, lecture-based arts education format, The Arts Society has over 300 local societies across the UK with 64,000 members. More formal than a community painting club but excellent for anyone who wants to go deeper into art history and appreciation alongside making.
Art Clubs for Adults
The majority of community art clubs in the UK are primarily adult orientated — and within that, honestly, a lot of them skew toward older adults. That’s not a criticism. It’s a reflection of who has the time and inclination on a weekday morning.
Art clubs for adults vary enormously in format. Some are entirely self-directed — you bring your own work in progress and just paint alongside others. Some have occasional visiting tutors or demonstrations. Some organise trips, exhibitions and social events alongside the weekly sessions. Most welcome complete beginners alongside experienced painters.
Cost is typically a small annual membership fee — often £20-40 — plus a weekly session fee of £2-5 to cover the room hire. Some art clubs for adults are free, particularly those run by local councils or libraries as community services. If cost is a concern, it’s worth specifically searching for free art clubs near you — they do exist.
What to bring to your first session: your own materials if you have them (most clubs don’t provide paints and brushes), something to protect the table, and a complete willingness to not be very good. Nobody cares. That’s genuinely the point.
Art Clubs for Kids
Art clubs for kids are a different beast entirely to adult clubs — more structured, more guided, more focused on teaching specific skills and techniques rather than just providing space to paint. Most kids art clubs near you will be run by a professional art teacher or experienced artist and will follow some kind of curriculum or project-based programme.
If you’re looking for art clubs for kids specifically, here’s where to start:
Your child’s school — after school art clubs are common in primary and secondary schools. It’s the obvious first port of call and the easiest logistically since there’s no extra travel involved.
Local arts centres — most towns of any size have a local arts centre or gallery that runs children’s workshops and holiday programmes. After school art clubs and holiday art camps near you are often run through these.
ClassBento — ClassBento lists children’s art workshops and classes across the UK. Good for finding one-off sessions or short courses rather than ongoing clubs.
Local Facebook groups — again, the most reliable way to find genuinely local options that aren’t easily discoverable online.
Zach and Nancy have both done holiday art camps over the years and the quality varies enormously. The best ones are run by actual artists who genuinely enjoy teaching kids. The worst are essentially supervised colouring sessions. Ask to see examples of what previous participants produced before booking — that tells you everything.
Art Clubs for Teens
This is the gap in the market. Art clubs for teens — specifically for the 13-17 age group — are genuinely hard to find in most parts of the UK. They’re either too young for adult clubs and too old for kids clubs, which leaves a significant number of artistically inclined teenagers with nowhere obvious to go.
Options worth investigating for art clubs for teens near you:
Secondary school art departments — some schools run after school art clubs or lunchtime sessions beyond the curriculum. Worth asking the art department directly even if nothing is advertised.
Local colleges — sixth form and FE colleges sometimes open their facilities or run taster sessions for local young people. Worth enquiring.
Youth arts organisations — many areas have dedicated youth arts organisations that run regular sessions. These tend to be more contemporary in approach — street art, digital art, printmaking — which often suits teenagers better than a traditional painting club.
Online communities — for teens who are serious about their art, online communities are often more relevant than local clubs. Reddit’s r/learnart, Discord servers for specific art styles, YouTube tutorials and community feedback — the internet is where most artistically serious teenagers are developing their practice anyway.
Art and Craft Clubs Near Me
Not everyone who wants a creative community specifically wants to paint. Art and craft clubs near you cover a much broader range of creative activities — textile arts, ceramics, printmaking, bookbinding, jewellery, mixed media. If your interests are broader than painting and drawing specifically it’s worth looking for craft clubs near you alongside traditional art clubs.
Women’s craft groups in particular are well represented across the UK — often meeting in similar settings to art clubs (church halls, community centres, village halls) with a similar ethos of friendly creative community. Worth searching specifically for craft clubs near you if painting isn’t quite the right fit.
What to Expect at Your First Session
Most art clubs are considerably less intimidating than people imagine before they go. Here’s the honest version of what to expect:
You’ll arrive, someone will make you a cup of tea. You’ll be introduced to a few people whose names you immediately forget. You’ll set up at a table or easel, start working on something, and within about 20 minutes you’ll have forgotten you were nervous about going at all. By the end of the session you’ll have had three conversations you didn’t expect to have and learned at least one thing about your medium from someone who’s been doing it for longer than you have.
Then you’ll go home, tell someone it was fine, and quietly make a note in your diary for the same time next week.
That’s art clubs. They’re not complicated and they’re better than you expect them to be.
Online vs In-Person Art Clubs
Since the pandemic a lot of art clubs moved online and many have stayed there permanently or gone hybrid. Online art clubs have obvious advantages — no travel, accessible regardless of mobility, potentially connecting you with artists across the country rather than just in your immediate area.
The SAA runs online groups. Zoom painting sessions exist for most skill levels and mediums. If you have mobility issues, caring responsibilities or simply live somewhere rural where there isn’t a local club within reasonable distance, an online group is a genuinely good alternative.
That said — and I feel strongly about this having watched creative communities online and in person for 16 years — there’s something about being in the same physical room as other people making things that online simply can’t replicate. If you can get to an in-person club, do. The online version is the next best thing, not the same thing.
Art Clubs in Major UK Cities
If you’re in or near a major UK city the options multiply significantly. A few worth mentioning:
Art clubs Manchester — Manchester has a thriving creative community and numerous art clubs across the city and Greater Manchester area. The SAA directory is your best starting point. Manchester also has the Northern Quarter’s concentration of creative spaces which host various workshops and groups.
Art clubs London — London’s offer is enormous but also more fragmented. The Pullingers art group directory has an extensive list of London art groups. The Wapping Group of Artists is one of London’s most established plein air groups. Art clubs in London range from informal sketch groups meeting in parks to structured societies with exhibition programmes.
Art clubs Liverpool — Liverpool has a strong arts heritage and several active art societies. The Walker Art Gallery’s community programme is worth investigating as a starting point for finding groups in the area.
Art clubs Edinburgh — Edinburgh’s art scene is exceptional and reflected in its community clubs. The Edinburgh Sketchers group, various societies affiliated with the RSA and numerous community clubs across the city. Art clubs Edinburgh tend to be well organised and active.
Art clubs Bristol — Bristol has one of the UK’s most vibrant independent creative communities. Art Club Bristol and various groups centred around the city’s arts venues provide plenty of options for all levels.
What Art Supplies Do You Need for an Art Club?
Most art clubs don’t provide materials — you’re expected to bring your own. For a first session, don’t go and spend a fortune. A basic set of whatever medium you want to work in and some suitable paper or canvas is perfectly adequate to start.
If you’re getting more serious about it and want to buy good quality materials at the best prices, our live deals page tracks discounts from all the major UK art retailers updated throughout the week. We also have a watercolour deals page specifically if watercolour is your medium of choice — which it is for a significant proportion of UK art club members in my experience.
And if joining an art club has reignited an interest in your creative practice and you’re starting to think about what to do with the work you’re producing, we have a comprehensive guide on how to sell your art online — from choosing a platform to building an audience around your work.
Do you run or belong to a local art club you’d like to see featured? Let us know in our Facebook community of 15,000 UK artists — we love hearing about the brilliant local groups that never quite make it onto Google.
