Finding creative community, outside of art school

Finding your people and your places

Leaving education and the creative community attached to it can leave a big space for you to get out and meet new groups of creatives. This doesn’t have to be in a way that feels network-y or disingenuous – for anyone seeking a creative community, new art school grad or not, there’s a million ways to meet people who are doing creative things that are right up your street. Exhibition openings, open mic nights, film screenings, zine launches, creative clubs, and art markets are just a few corners of the scene to start at. These kinds of gatherings are not only a chance to meet people and open new doors, but are also a great way to find creative locations that you can keep returning to for future events.

Short Supply is a community organisation founded by artists Mollie Balshaw and Rebekah Beasley in 2019, aiming to support emerging artists in the northwest of the UK who feel a lack of support leaving art school. Amongst (the many) amazing opportunities they present for creatives, the duo have been hosting live art nights for the last four years. If you are based in and around Salford or Manchester, you should make your way down to one of their Scratch events for performance-based work from up-and-coming creatives, or take part in one! “We love live art, but we hardly get to see it, and there are basically no provisions for it in the region at an emerging level,” says Mollie. The pair made these nights a monthly occasion “as there’s too many fleeting opportunities to meet in the art world that never seem to reach needed sustainability”. Regular events like these are a great way to keep in touch with a crowd of creatives every month and cultivate a sense of belonging.

You might even be able to combine finding new networks with hobbies you thought were completely unrelated — like running. Tempo run club is a community of musicians and DJs who run together once a week. They also do monthly mix events and informal DJ workshops (post-run) in Peckham, London. Initiated by BBC Radio 1 DJ Martha Pazienti Caidan, the club “creates a space that promotes healthier habits whilst working in the music industry”, where young people can hang out with their creative friends outside of “a crazy club environment”. Spaces like Tempo are a nice way to enter the industry with an activity that’s not directly in the field.

For Edinburgh-based illustrator Lauren Cory, she has found her place in the small press community as a regular visitor and stall holder at local art markets: “Being able to meet people behind the work you see online is really valuable, especially as the nature of our work is usually independent, so it’s hard to feel grounded in the community when you’re first starting out,” she says. A great chance to make new friends and sell your wares, these events form their own little ecosystem “where part of the money you make always goes back into supporting other artists’ work, encouraging them to keep making.”