©Tate: Photo: Kristin Prisk 2020
Tate believes access to art is a universal human right – Look Groups are an example of this in action.
The Look Group project launched in October 2009, through a partnership by Tate St Ives and Cornwall Council, funded until April 2010 by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills under the Learning Innovation Transformation Fund. The goal was to initiate a sustainable network of Look Groups across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, bringing communities together to talk about art and ideas. The pilot initiative succeeded in building a knowledgeable and supportive audience-base throughout Cornwall.
Following this success, Look Groups were awarded funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the Tate St Ives Legacy Project. From 2012 to 2017, NLHF funding supported the expansion of the number of Look Groups to reach twenty-five different communities. The funding also supported Look Groups to collaborate with Tate to create exhibition resources and small displays which they have since done on several occasions.
Cornwall Look Groups have gone from strength to strength, they adapted to meeting online during the Covid-19 pandemic and developed an online community to talk about art when it wasn’t always possible to meet in person. In 2022, Tate allocated Covid recovery funding, received from the Clore Duffield Foundation, to support Look Groups to re-establish face to face activity and reconnect with their communities.
2023 saw the launch of Look Group style conversations in mental health hospitals, in partnership with Hospital Rooms and Cornwall NHS Foundation Trust. Over twenty hospital staff, from Camborne and Redruth Community Hospital, and Bodmin Community Hospital, were supported by Tate to gain confidence and develop skills in looking and talking about art. Back on the wards they have been exploring the role of art and creativity in mental health recovery.
In 2025 there have been nine known self-organised Look Groups operating in communities throughout Cornwall, totalling approximately 150 members with ages ranging from 30 to 90. Some have been members since the group’s inception. Groups have also evolved and attracted new members over the years, including through social prescribing referrals. Meetings can include 6 to 60 people, there is no limit on group size. For more information about what a Look Group is and how to join or start a Look Group in your area please click here.
Look Groups really can happen anywhere. Resources are available to support established groups, and individuals and organisations anywhere to start their own Look Group.
Why not start one in your community?