What Is the Best Way to Support Local Artists?
‘Support local artists’ is easy to say and vague to do. If you’re asking what is the best way to support local artists — musicians, painters, makers, writers in your area — here are ten concrete things that genuinely help, from free to serious investment.
Artists consistently say the same thing: the support that matters is specific, financial when possible, and sustained. Here’s what that looks like.
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Buy their work (directly)
The most direct support is buying. Original art, prints, ceramics, gig tickets, books, craft pieces — and buy direct where possible: from the artist’s website, studio, or market stall rather than through platforms that take 30–50% commission.
Can’t afford originals? Prints, small works, zines, and EPs are priced for real people. A £20 print bought directly puts more in the artist’s pocket than a £200 piece through a gallery taking half. And commissions — asking an artist to make something specifically for you — are often more affordable than people assume, and deeply meaningful to the artist.
Show up
Go to the gig. Visit the open studio. Attend the exhibition opening. Buy the ticket to the local theatre production. Audiences are an artist’s lifeblood — empty rooms kill careers faster than bad reviews. Bring friends; artists remember who brings people.
Open studio events (many areas run annual open-studio weekends — search yours) are perfect: you meet the maker, see the process, and buy without gallery markups. It’s the best art-buying experience there is.
Amplify (the free stuff that matters)
Share their work — genuinely, not performatively. A thoughtful share with why you love it beats a mindless retweet. Leave reviews — for books, gigs, Etsy shops. Reviews drive algorithms and sales. Recommend them — ‘my friend does brilliant portraits’ has launched commissions. Follow and engage — algorithms reward engagement; a comment means more than a like.
Pay for content — if a local musician is on Bandcamp, buy the download rather than streaming it. If a writer has a paid newsletter, consider subscribing. The amounts are small; the signal is huge.
Go deeper: patronage and advocacy
Join local arts organisations — friends’ schemes at theatres and galleries fund programming directly. Advocate — support arts funding, vote for it, show up to council consultations when venues are threatened. The UK keeps losing grassroots venues; public support matters.
Arts Council England funds artists and organisations nationally — understanding and supporting public arts funding is the systemic version of buying the print. Individual support keeps artists going; collective support keeps the ecosystem alive. Both matter.
What is the best way to support local artists? Your questions answered
I can’t afford original art — does buying prints actually help? Enormously. Prints, small works, and editions are priced for real budgets, and buying direct puts most of the money with the artist. A £25 print bought from the maker means more than a £200 piece through a gallery taking 50%. Never apologise for buying small — artists are grateful for every sale.
Is sharing on social media actually useful, or just slacktivism? Genuinely useful, done right. A thoughtful share — why you love the work, tagging the artist, linking where to buy — drives real discovery and sales. Algorithms reward engagement: comments and shares matter more than likes. It’s not a substitute for buying, but as a complement it’s powerful. The artists I know track which shares led to sales.
How do I find local artists in the first place? Open studio events (search ‘[your area] open studios’ — most regions run them), local art trails, craft markets, Instagram location tags, gallery mailing lists, and the arts pages of local media. Once you find one artist you like, follow who they follow — the local scene maps itself quickly.
Becoming a patron: the deeper levels
Level one: buy and share — the foundation. Level two: commission — a portrait, a piece for a specific wall, a song for an occasion. Commissions are often more affordable than expected and create a relationship with the artist. Discuss budget honestly; most artists will work within it.
Level three: sustained support — Patreon memberships, paid newsletter subscriptions, friends’ schemes at local venues. Small monthly amounts that artists can rely on. Level four: advocacy — supporting arts funding, defending venues under threat, voting for culture. The ecosystem needs defenders, not just customers.
You don’t need wealth to be a patron — you need attention and consistency. The local artist whose work you buy, whose gigs you attend, whose name you recommend: you’re their patron. Patronage isn’t a historical curiosity; it’s what you’re doing every time you choose the local maker over the mass-produced alternative.
Commissioning art: how it works
Commissioning — asking an artist to make something for you — sounds grand, but it’s often affordable and always meaningful. Here’s the process.
- Finding the artist: start with artists whose existing work you love — open studios, Instagram, local galleries. Their style is what you’re buying; don’t ask a watercolourist for oils.
- The brief: be clear about what you want (subject, size, colours, deadline) but leave creative room. The best commissions collaborate: your idea, their expertise.
- Pricing: discuss budget upfront — most artists will tell you honestly what’s possible. Expect 50% deposit, balance on completion. Prices reflect hours of skilled work; respect them.
- Timeline: commissions take weeks to months. Plan ahead for gifts and occasions. Rush jobs cost more and stress everyone.
- The result: art made for your wall, your story in it, and a relationship with the maker. No print, however beautiful, carries that. Commission once and you’ll understand.
The takeaway
Supporting local artists means: buying direct (prints and small works count), showing up to gigs and open studios, sharing and reviewing their work, paying for content rather than streaming it free, and backing arts funding. Specific, financial when possible, sustained — that’s what artists actually need.
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