Artquest

Professional & career development for visual artists. Includes free online legal information for artists and extensive opportunities listings.

Research and projects, advocacy and partnerships, opportunities listings and the resources to apply for them. We deliver our programme through a mix of online support through our 2,000+ page website at www.artquest.org.uk, and through other events, seminars, conferences and networking opportunities. Projects for artists include commissions, residencies, research and online networking.

27/10/2025

Some more snippets from the report by UAL’s social policy unit in collaboration with Artquest’s Applied programme.

Link to the full report in our bio or at this link: www.artquest.org.uk/applied/applied-insights/who-gets-to-be-an-artist

22/10/2025

Article on .co.uk by Georgia Luckhurst on the “Who Gets to be an artist?” report. Many thanks for the coverage!

21/10/2025

Some snippets from the report by UALs social policy unit in collaboration with Artquest Applied programme.

Link to the full report in our bio or at this link: www.artquest.org.uk/applied/applied-insights/who-gets-to-be-an-artist

20/10/2025

Launching today: Who Gets To Be An Artist? — our new report with UAL’s Social Purpose Lab policy unit.

This report asks a vital question: is access to a career in the arts truly equitable?

Drawing on data from our ongoing Applied Data Partnership, the findings arrive as the UK Government commits to growing the visual arts sector as part of its Creative Industries Plan. But if that’s to succeed, we must first confront the inequalities laid bare by the data
From April 2024–March 2025, we found:

🔹Only 41% of artists regularly earned money from their practice.
🔹69% cited lack of income as a barrier to their career.
🔹Yet, over half live in London and the South East — among the most expensive areas in the UK.
🔹Amidst rising cost of living, nearly 1 in 3 artists took on more debt last year; 15% used a foodbank.
🔹In the last year, 1 in 3 increased work outside their creative practice; 1 in 4 did so for the first time.
🔹28% don’t have savings to last a month; only 8% could last a year.
🔹Discrimination remains a barrier — especially by age (32%), social background (22%), and ethnicity (17%).
🔹Artists attended private school at 3x the rate of the general population, and 92.% attended university.

The picture is clear: financial insecurity, unequal access to education, and regional disparities still shape who gets to be an artist — and who doesn’t.

Read the full report via the link in our bio or at: https://artquest.org.uk/research/applied/applied-insights/who-gets-to-be-an-artist/

24/09/2025

✨ This snapshot of from our Applied survey explores how use differs inside and outside of London.

📍 In London
– 12% more artists rent a separate studio space
– 7% more artists don’t have a studio at all
– About 1 in 4 (24%) work from a home studio

🌿 Outside London
– 74% of artists have studios (that’s 4% more than London)
– 15% more artists use a home studio
– Twice as many (6%) own a separate studio space

Are you an artist who has recently moved from London? Has this changed your access and use of a studio space? Let us know in the comments below.

22/09/2025

There’s no single path to building a career as an artist. Everyone’s journey, circumstances, and resources look different.

So with so many ways of being an artist, how do you define success? What does it mean to you?

In our Applied survey, we asked artists how they know their career is successful. Despite the variety of practices out there, some clear themes emerged:

🔹 82% said longevity of practice was the strongest marker of success
🔹 78% pointed to artistic growth and development
🔹 70% In third place, a tie between earning a living from art and spending the majority of time on artistic work

Do these resonate with you and your practice? Share your thoughts in the comments 👇

15/09/2025

Through data from our Applied programme we are exploring differences in artists working lives inside and outside of London.

This snapshot compares the sources of income artists say they’ve earned from that show the biggest differences between artists outside and inside of London. This includes one off non-regular sources.

More artist respondents OUTSIDE LONDON said they earned from

🔹Pensions
🔹Licencing/royalties
🔹Online sales
🔹Private commissions
🔹Partner support

More artist respondents IN LONDON said they earned from

🔸Part time work
🔸Casual work
🔸Grants awards and prizes
🔸Family and Friends support

Are you an artist who has recently moved out of London? Does this reflect your experience? Let us know in the comments below

10/09/2025

Through data from our Applied programme we are exploring the barriers that artists face inside and outside of London.

This snapshot looks at the top barriers that show the CLOSEST SIMILARITIES between OUTSIDE and INSIDE of London.

This is just an isolated part of a bigger data story and of course needs to be looked at through other lenses to get a fuller picture, but....

Key takeaways include that regardless of location

🔹Around 45% of artists feel there aren’t opportunities relevant to their practice. - What kind of opportunities do you feel are lacking?

🔹Approximately 30% of artists feel discriminated against as a result of their age - Is there a tendency in open calls/opportunities to over-focus on a particular age/career stage?

🔹Roughly a quarter of artists are still feeling the impact of COVID-19/Lockdown - Digging into this data deeper though, reveals that this balancing is recent, and in previous years more artists outside of London selected the Impact of COVID-19 as a barrier

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

For more information on the Applied programme and how this data was gathered visit:https://artquest.org.uk/research/applied/

08/09/2025

Through data from our Applied programme we are exploring differences in artists working lives inside and outside of London.

This snapshot looks at differences in how artists regularly earn money

Some key takeaways include

🔹13% more artists earn regularly from their practice OUTSIDE OF LONDON - This could be because artists outside of London tend to have been practicing for longer, so have more established practices or that less financial pressure outside of the capital means they have more time to develop their practice into an income source.

🔹7% more artists IN LONDON earn regularly from jobs directly related to the arts and 10% more earn from the wider creative industries - suggesting the job market in these areas is healthier in London.

🔹Similar percentages of artists inside and outside of London earn money from casual / occasional work - showing that over a quarter of artists need to supplement their income with flexible but potentially precarious income.

Are you an artist that has recently moved out of London?
Do these figures ring true for you?
How has the move impacted on the amount you are able to earn from your practice and other sources?

Let us know in the comments below.

02/09/2025

✨ New Data Snapshot ✨

Through our Applied Programme, we’ve been exploring the barriers artists face inside and outside of London.

This snapshot highlights where the biggest differences show up ⬇️

💡 Remember: this is just one part of a bigger story. To truly understand the picture, we need to look through multiple lenses. But here’s what stands out from this snapshot…

🔹 Competition for opportunities
53% of artists in London cite too much competition vs. 42% outside.

🔹 Racial or ethnic discrimination
19% in London report this barrier compared to 8% outside — a gap shaped by differences in regional artist diversity rather than less discrimination.

🔹 Time pressures
59% of artists in London struggle with lack of time due to other work, compared to 49% outside — a reflection of higher living costs and pressures in the capital.

🔹 Funding access
56% in London say difficulty accessing grants and funding is a barrier, versus 47% outside.

🎨 Are you an artist who’s moved out of London?
✨ Does this snapshot reflect your own experience?

👉 Share your thoughts in the comments!

15/07/2025

Is it true that life begins at 25? Let’s find out! Today we’re publishing a reflection on the next steps for Artquest in the face of multiple, ongoing challenges in our income and historic programme as we approach our silver anniversary in 2026. Read more about our reflections on our current programme, our operating context, and plans for long-term sustainability. Link in our bio.

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