Global Art Sanctuaries: Elite Clubs Nurturing Creativity Across Continents
There’s a certain hush that falls inside the stately parlors of an art club. Step through the doors and you feel history draping over you like a well-tailored coat. Gilded frames catch the light, voices murmur about the latest exhibition, and creative energy crackles in the air. From the Victorian drawing rooms of London’s Arts Club to the bohemian halls of New York’s Salmagundi Club, and from Parisian salons to SOHO Houses to African and Asian art havens, the world’s most prestigious physical art clubs have long been incubators of artistry and elite networking. These clubs — exclusive yet progressive — have nurtured generations of artists, fostered cross-disciplinary collaboration, and promoted a global appreciation of fine art. Through vivid storytelling and in-depth reportage, let’s journey into these storied enclaves: how they began, how they evolved, and why they remain essential in our digital age.
The Arts Club (London): Victorian Visionaries and a Modern Renaissance
Founded in 1863 in London’s Mayfair, The Arts Club emerged as a sanctuary for those with a “professional or amateur relationship with the Arts, Literature or Sciences,” welcoming a community of discerning thinkers and thought leaders. Its visionary founders — a roster including literary giants Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope, and painter Lord Frederic Leighton — set the tone for a club that from the outset bridged creative disciplines. The club’s early membership reads like a Who’s Who of 19th-century culture: Wilkie Collins and Thomas Hughes in literature, Franz Liszt and Charles Halle in music, James McNeill Whistler and John Everett Millais in art. Even foreign luminaries like composer Giuseppe Verdi, impressionist Claude Monet, and sculptor Auguste Rodin visited or exhibited here. This eclectic mix was by design — the Arts Club sought to spark conversation across artistic fields, cultivating an atmosphere where a novelist might debate a scientist over dinner, or a painter could find inspiration in a composer’s performance.
Over the decades, The Arts Club became woven into London’s cultural fabric. Its elegant townhouse at 40 Dover Street hosted distinguished art exhibitions, literary readings, concerts and salons that defined the capital’s creative scene. In the club’s early years, one could imagine Dickens himself by the fireplace, animatedly reciting prose, or Leighton discussing an upcoming Royal Academy show. The club offered artists not just networking but practical support: a place to exhibit work, share techniques, and find patrons. It was an incubator for artistic movements — many a collaboration or patronage deal was born in its dining room. Indeed, painters like Whistler and Millais, though rivals in the art world, mingled here under genteel truce, enriching the club’s lore with their personalities.
Fast forward to today, and The Arts Club has undergone a modern renaissance. It remains at “the heart of contemporary cultural life in London,” blending historic charm with 21st-century creativity. The club’s art collection and programming keep it relevant: rotating exhibitions curated by art advisors (such as Wedel Art) bring in cutting-edge works — recent shows have featured contemporary stars like Frank Bowling, Yinka Shonibare, and Etel Adnan alongside the club’s permanent collection of modern art. Fine dining, live music in the basement nightclub, and even a world-class wellness center next door (Lanserhof at The Arts Club) have been added, appealing to the “creatives, entrepreneurs and innovative thinkers” who form the new generation of members. Yet the spirit remains familiar: at its core, the Arts Club is still about bringing people together to exchange ideas and inspiration. On any given night, its lounge buzzes with conversation as architects discuss design trends with filmmakers, or fashion designers chat with poets over cocktails. It’s a scene Dickens would recognize — the cast of characters has changed, but the creative camaraderie endures.
This blend of heritage and innovation is key to the Arts Club’s cultural influence. It consciously encourages cross-disciplinary connections: panel discussions, studio tours, and performances crowd its calendar. The club’s expansion beyond London — notably a luxurious branch in Dubai opened in 2020 — shows its model resonates globally. In an era when many social clubs faded, The Arts Club thrived by staying true to its mission of celebrating the arts while embracing change. Its enduring legacy is evident: from Victorian-era salons to contemporary global hubs, The Arts Club stands as a testament to how an elite art club can nurture creativity across generations.
The Chelsea Arts Club: Bohemia, Balls, and Artist Brotherhood
If the Arts Club was the refined gentleman of Victorian art society, Chelsea Arts Club was its flamboyant bohemian cousin. Founded in 1890 in London’s Chelsea district — then a gritty artists’ quarter known as the “Latin Quarter” — the club was born from artists’ desire for a less stuffy, more free-spirited community. In fact, the Chelsea Arts Club literally grew out of a party: a group of local painters and sculptors meeting in sculptor Stirling Lee’s studio to plan an exhibition suddenly realized what they really needed was a club. “Club, club, club!” they shouted, scrapping the exhibition idea on the spot. Famed American painter James McNeill Whistler, who had been frustrated with the conservative Arts Club in Mayfair, backed the plan enthusiastically. By November 1890 the Chelsea Arts Club was formally constituted as a club “of professional architects, engravers, painters and sculptors” aimed at advancing art through exhibitions, classes and “social intercourse” among members. It opened its doors in early 1891 with 55 artist-members and a spirit of bohemian kinship — a “genteel poverty” as one historian quipped, where creativity mattered far more than wealth.
Where the Arts Club was proper, Chelsea was positively rambunctious. Its defining tradition became the Chelsea Arts Balls, legendary costume balls that ran annually for over 50 years. These weren’t tame soirées — they were explosive carnivals of creativity, with thousands of revelers in outrageous homemade costumes dancing until dawn. Starting in 1908, the club held the balls in London’s biggest venues (Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House, then the Royal Albert Hall) to accommodate demand. Each ball had a fantastical theme — “Noah’s Ark,” “Sun Worship,” “The Dragon’s Roast” — and attendees truly left inhibitions at the door. Contemporary accounts describe scenes of near-surreal revelry: “The mere mention of the Chelsea Arts Ball would make the debutante blush and the dowager blench,” joked socialite Lady Muriel Beckwith in 1936. At a time when British society was buttoned-up, the Chelsea balls were a shock of color and chaos — artists’ “parties par excellence” that raised funds for artists’ charities and fed countless bohemian legends. (They also eventually scandalized the establishment enough that by 1958 authorities banned them for “rowdiness, nudity and public homosexuality,” underscoring just how ahead-of-its-time that creative freedom was.)
Inside the club’s own walls on Old Church Street — a cozy clubhouse with studios, a billiards room, garden and a rickety dining hall — an unpretentious warmth reigned. Members took pride in the club’s shabbiness, dubbing it “shabby chic” long before the term existed. The dining room famously serves a hearty “Salmagundi stew” (yes, named like the NYC club — a stew of whatever’s on hand) as a tongue-in-cheek reminder of artists’ thrifty lifestyle. For decades, the Chelsea Arts Club admitted only practicing artists (women were finally admitted as full members in 1966). Its membership over the 20th century included many British art icons — from post-Impressionist painter Augustus John to sculptor Henry Moore and beyond. But hierarchy mattered less here; a young art student could chat up a Royal Academician over cheap ale without fear. The club’s motto might as well have been “art above all”.
Today, the Chelsea Arts Club still thrives as a private haven for London’s visual artists, writers, musicians and filmmakers, over 4,000 strong. It honors its whimsical heritage in creative ways. For special events, the clubhouse exterior itself often becomes a canvas — painted in wild murals or “dazzle” camouflage patterns by member artists, transforming the quiet Chelsea street into an artwork. The club continues to host concerts, film screenings, life-drawing classes and weekend “artists’ lunches,” keeping its calendar lively. Even without the mega-balls of old, Chelsea’s creative camaraderie remains intact. Strolling through its premises, you might find painters clustered in the studio swapping tips on brush technique, or a gaggle of actors rehearsing an impromptu cabaret in the bar. The aura is relaxed and boisterous — a place where the modern art world’s pressures pause at the door, and members can simply create and commune. In an ever-commercialized art market, the Chelsea Arts Club’s offbeat bohemia continues to nurture artists’ souls — a living reminder that art, at its best, is a joyful, communal adventure.
Soho House: A New Generation’s Global Creative Salon
In contrast to century-old clubs steeped in tradition, Soho House represents a newer breed of art club — one tailored to the creative entrepreneurs of the late 20th and 21st centuries. Founded in 1995 above a little restaurant in London’s Soho district, the first Soho House was the brainchild of restauranteur Nick Jones, who envisioned a relaxed, stylish hangout for professionals in film, media, art, and fashion. From that single makeshift club at 40 Greek Street (a Georgian townhouse that still stands as the original Soho House location), an international phenomenon was born. Today, Soho House & Co has 42 Houses worldwide — from New York and Mumbai to Istanbul and Hong Kong — each a chic haven where creative minds mingle over cocktails by day and dance under the stars by night. It’s a modern twist on the art club concept: part members-only social space, part incubator for creative industry networking, and part art gallery.
The original Soho House at 40 Greek Street in London’s Soho (pictured in 2023) is a modest townhouse that launched a global creative club empire.
From the outset, Soho House turned the traditional private club model on its head. Whereas old clubs often emphasized social rank or wealth, Soho House proclaimed it valued “creativity above net worth and job titles,” cultivating a cool egalitarian vibe for artists and innovators. Membership was (and remains) selective — there are long waiting lists — but the goal is to fill the rooms with working creatives rather than just financiers. The ambiance is deliberately laid-back: vintage eclectic décor, big comfy sofas, dim lighting, and no stuffy dress codes. In London, the original House became a magnet for young Hollywood stars, Britpop musicians, painters, and media moguls alike — all seeking a refuge from prying eyes and a place to swap ideas. The formula proved wildly successful. As one by one new “Houses” popped up in other cities, Soho House grew into a global network of creative hubs. By 2021, it had nearly 120,000 members across 10 countries, connected by an ethos of casual luxury and cultural exchange.
Despite its private-club exclusivity, Soho House has significantly contributed to fine arts and creative disciplines. Each House is adorned with local art — in fact, the company has built a collection of over 10,000 contemporary artworks by trading club memberships for art, giving emerging artists a platform in front of a tastemaker audience. Curator Kate Bryan noted that this approach allowed Soho House to support artists early in their careers, often promoting new art trends globally via its venues (where works by young painters might hang alongside established names). The Houses regularly host film screenings, book launches, live music sets, and art shows. A filmmaker in New York might meet a tech designer visiting from London on the rooftop bar; a fashion photographer from Berlin might strike up a conversation with a local painter at the poolside lounge in Mumbai. Such encounters have led to countless collaborations — Soho House essentially functions as a permanent creative conference, fostering cross-pollination across borders.
A rooftop bar at Soho House in New York City offers a contemporary playground for creatives — blending art, design, and socializing high above the city.
The club also established Soho House Foundation, a charitable arm to mentor and fund creatives from underrepresented backgrounds. This effort underscores a modern awareness: it’s not enough to cater to elite members; an art club should also cultivate the next generation of talent more broadly. Through programs like internships, grants, and public art initiatives, Soho House tries to bridge its exclusive world with the wider creative community. Meanwhile, the company’s expansion hasn’t slowed — each new House adapts to its locale’s culture (for instance, Soho House Mumbai incorporates Indian design motifs and hosts local art festivals). By evolving with the times — even going public on the stock market to fund growth — Soho House shows innovation in the art-club model, proving that physical gathering spaces for creatives remain vital even in the digital era. As founder Nick Jones put it, the aim was always to create a “home for creative people” to feel inspired and connected. In that mission, Soho House has arguably done more to globally network the creative class than any institution of its kind in recent memory.
Salmagundi Club (New York): 150 Years of Artistic Fellowship
Across the Atlantic, New York’s Salmagundi Club carries the torch as one of America’s oldest and most prestigious art clubs. Established in 1871, Salmagundi began humbly as a sketch class in Greenwich Village where a handful of artists gathered to draw and critique each other’s work. They initially called themselves the New York Sketch Club. The whimsical name “Salmagundi” (adopted a few years later) literally means a stew of mixed ingredients — a nod to both a satirical magazine by Washington Irving and a pirate’s hotchpotch stew — hinting at the club’s eclectic, hearty character. From the start, Salmagundi was “a club founded for and by working artists,” emphasizing camaraderie and skill-sharing over social elitism. Early members included prominent illustrators like Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth (who supplied art to satire magazines just as Irving’s Salmagundi Papers did) and American Impressionist painters like Childe Hassam and William Merritt Chase. By gathering together, these artists created a supportive community in an era when making a living in art was a formidable challenge.
Salmagundi soon blossomed into a vital center for fine arts in New York. In 1917, the club settled into a charming brownstone mansion on lower Fifth Avenue, which remains its home. Over decades, its halls were graced by legendary figures: Hudson River School painter Thomas Moran, glass artist Louis Comfort Tiffany, illustrator Charles Dana Gibson, even British Prime Minister-turned-painter Winston Churchill as an honorary member. The club’s mission has been consistent: to advance representational art and support artists. It has done so by hosting countless exhibitions, art classes, sketch circles, and auctions. By the mid-20th century, almost every notable realist painter in America had some tie to Salmagundi. The club’s facilities became a treasure trove: multiple galleries, a library (with rare art books predating the Dewey decimal system), painting studios, and one of the oldest monotype printing presses still in use. It wasn’t all serious study either — the club also installed vintage billiard tables and kept an old-world dining room and bar, preserving a sense of leisure and fraternity that balances the artistic labor.
Importantly, Salmagundi never shut its doors to the public. Though a private club, it invites New Yorkers into its galleries free of charge year-round to view both its historic art collection (over 1,500 works amassed via member donations and prize purchases) and rotating exhibits of contemporary artists. The ethos is art for all. The club’s open exhibitions and artist demonstrations have inspired generations of young visitors — some of whom later became members themselves. Recognizing the need to foster new talent, Salmagundi offers junior memberships and scholarships to emerging artists, encouraging them to exhibit and learn alongside established members. This mentorship mentality keeps the club’s ranks refreshed and its outlook forward-looking. Another beloved Salmagundi tradition has been community service: as early as World War I, the club formed the “United Arts rifles” (nicknamed the “Unshrinkables”) — a tongue-in-cheek home guard of artists drilling with broomsticks — and it continues to support U.S. military veterans’ art programs like the Coast Guard Art Project today.
Walking into Salmagundi’s historic townhouse today, you might feel transported to an earlier New York. The main gallery’s wood-paneled walls and skylights hark back to 19th-century studios; in the rustic dining hall (with its rough-hewn tables reminiscent of an old Nantucket tavern), one can almost imagine seafaring painters swapping tall tales over the house specialty stew. Yet the atmosphere is far from outdated — on a given evening the gallery might host a cutting-edge realism exhibit by living artists, or a digital art workshop, illustrating Salmagundi’s ability to straddle old and new. The club’s commitment to representational art in an age dominated by conceptual art shows a confident sense of purpose. For many artists and art-lovers, Salmagundi remains a mecca of traditional fine arts, proving that even after 150 years, a club built on fellowship, learning, and mutual support can continue to thrive. In the words of one club historian, Salmagundi’s role has been to keep alive and develop the artistic sense of the community by providing a place to exhibit work, gain constructive criticism, and “win medals, prizes and certificates” — in short, to celebrate artistic achievement and progress. That mission has truly stood the test of time.
The National Arts Club (New York): Gilded-Age Grandeur and Inclusivity
Just a few miles uptown from Salmagundi, overlooking Manhattan’s private Gramercy Park, stands The National Arts Club (NAC) — a grand dame of art institutions that has been cultivating American arts since 1898. Housed in the opulent Samuel J. Tilden Mansion — a Victorian Gothic gem redesigned with stained glass by John LaFarge and a magnificent library dome — the club itself looks like a work of art. The National Arts Club was founded by writer and critic Charles DeKay with a remarkably progressive vision: to create a club that would “embrace all the arts” and, notably, to admit women as full members from the very start. At a time when most private clubs (and indeed art societies) were men-only, this was groundbreaking. DeKay and his circle of artists, architects, and patrons believed that American art was coming into its own, and New York needed a central hub to “stimulate, foster, and promote public interest in the arts” while educating people in fine arts. With that mission, the NAC quickly attracted a star-studded membership across disciplines. Early members included renowned painters like Frederic Remington and William Merritt Chase, eminent sculptors like Augustus Saint-Gaudens, as well as literary figures and patrons such as Mark Twain and Henry Frick (the latter joined as a leading art collector). Uniquely, even U.S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson counted among the club’s honorary members in its early years.
From the beginning, the National Arts Club positioned itself as a cultural catalyst for the public, not just a private sanctuary. In fact, although it is a members’ club, nearly all its art exhibitions, lectures, and performances are free and open to everyone. This inclusive approach stems from the club’s nonprofit mission. Each year, the NAC hosts over 150 arts programs — from gallery shows and classical concerts to literary readings and fashion shows — drawing tens of thousands of visitors. In its heyday, the NAC was known for spectacular exhibits that sometimes courted controversy. As early as 1904, it staged bold shows like one featuring avant-garde Ashcan School painters (Arthur Davies, George Luks, etc.), helping introduce modern art currents to New Yorkflattmag.com. The club’s willingness to push boundaries occasionally sparked debate — for example, a 1905 exhibition of a purportedly ancient Aphrodite sculpture that critics declared a forgery caused quite a stir. Yet such episodes only burnished NAC’s image as the place where the cutting edge met the establishment.
The club’s home itself, the Tilden Mansion, became a gathering spot for glittering social and artistic events. After the NAC moved there in 1906 (thanks to financier Spencer Trask securing the property), its lavish parlors and ballroom witnessed costume balls, award dinners, and salons that connected artists with New York high society. Crucially, the NAC embraced all art forms, reflecting its committee system that even today covers architecture, film, music, dance, drama, literary arts and beyond. By mid-20th century, its Medal of Honor annual awards had honored icons from Norman Rockwell in painting to Tennessee Williams in literature and Placido Domingo in music — underscoring the club’s broad artistic scope. A visitor to the NAC during the Jazz Age might encounter sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington discussing anatomy with a young art student in one room, while in another, Alfred Stieglitz addresses the club about the new art of photography. This cross-disciplinary mingling has been NAC’s hallmark.
Over 125 years later, the National Arts Club remains a vibrant force. It still counts distinguished artists, writers, and performers among its members, but continues to welcome new voices and diverse audiences. The club has doubled down on outreach and education — its artist fellowship program and collaborations with international arts groups exemplify how it shares ideas globally. It has also modernized physically: a recent renovation added accessible facilities and updated its galleries for contemporary multimedia art. But step inside, and you’ll still feel that Gilded Age magic: the marble fireplaces, the famed stained-glass dome above the bar, the oil portraits of past members lining the walls. It’s easy to see why film and TV productions (from Boardwalk Empire to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) use the club as a period backdrop — the place breathes history. Yet alongside its history, the NAC’s enduring contribution is community. As its President Chris Cirillo noted, the club’s values of community, creativity, inclusivity, and integrity guide every event and exhibit. In a fast-paced city, the National Arts Club offers a rare combination of refinement and openness, a place where a student or tourist can wander in to gaze at paintings for free, and perhaps strike up a chat with a seasoned playwright or a symphony conductor. That democratic spirit — an elite club with its doors wide open — cements the NAC’s role as a cornerstone of New York’s art ecosystem, nurturing public appreciation and ensuring the arts remain an integral part of civic life.
Paris: Salons, Cafés and the Seeds of Art Clubs
Paris in the 19th and early 20th centuries did not have “art clubs” in the exact mold of London or New York — it had something arguably more influential: salons and cafés that functioned as open art societies. In the Belle Époque, creative people from painters to poets congregated in bohemian cafés of Montmartre and Montparnasse, effectively forming informal clubs without membership cards. Legendary venues like Le Chat Noir cabaret or Café Guerbois became nightly meeting spots for the Impressionists and writers; Toulouse-Lautrec, Émile Zola, Edgar Degas and others traded ideas (and barbs) over absinthe and coffee. These gatherings nurtured radical art movements — it was at the Café Guerbois, for instance, where Monet, Renoir and their peers famously plotted their break from the official Salon in the 1870s. While not “prestigious clubs” by formal definition, these camaraderies were crucibles of modern art, proving that the spirit of an art club can live in any communal space filled with passionate minds. As one chronicler noted, “Cafés became a hub for gathering together, discussing new ideas and watching the world” — essentially incubating creativity in plain view of Parisian society.
That said, Paris also had exclusive art and literary circles that paralleled the private clubs elsewhere. Elite patrons and artists formed clubs like the Cercle de l’Union Artistique (founded in 1860) — an invitation-only society that supported cultural endeavors and organized exhibitions for its members. This club, often hosting events in gilded halls on the Boulevard de la Madeleine, gave artists access to wealthy collectors and vice versa. A painting by Jean Béraud titled “At the Club” depicts well-dressed gentlemen lounging in such a milieu — a scene likely set at the Cercle de l’Union Artistique, which one museum describes as an “elite club, founded in 1860, that supported cultural endeavours and regularly organised exhibitions”. Membership skewed toward high society (even aristocracy), yet it provided artists a networking channel to secure commissions and recognition. Similarly, literary clubs like the Cercle de la Rue Royale catered to writers and aesthetes. Interestingly, many of these French clubs eventually merged or faded as the 20th century progressed, especially after World War II, when the café culture and public institutions took a larger role in arts patronage.
In essence, Paris’s contribution to the concept of art clubs was twofold: the open salon model that democratized artistic exchange, and the exclusive cercle model that linked artists with elite networks. Both nurtured art in different ways. For example, the Académie Julian (est. 1868) was a private art studio school that also served social functions — it famously allowed women to train alongside men and became a gathering place for foreign art students, including many Americans, effectively acting as an international art club in practice. By the 1920s, organizations like American Artists in Paris formed clubs and societies to help expatriate artists exhibit and connect (one anecdote involves a so-called “American Girls’ Art Club” in the 1890s that provided a Parisian lodging house and studio space for young women artists from the U.S., allowing them to form a supportive mini-club abroad). Paris also saw the rise of artist colonies such as La Ruche (the beehive) where creatives like Chagall and Léger lived and worked communally. All these variations underscore a cultural truth: Paris itself was an open-air art club. The entire city functioned as a place for artists to meet, argue, inspire each other and collaborate. This city-wide networking helped propel movements from Impressionism to Surrealism onto the world stage.
In modern times, Paris supports artists through institutions like the Cité Internationale des Arts, a residency complex founded in 1965 that houses artists from around the globe — effectively a contemporary club where international creatives live and create side by side. High-profile private clubs have also reappeared: for instance, The Arts Club’s expansion to Paris (through partner programs like “Arts Club Charitable Foundation”) and corporate-sponsored clubs linked to museums (e.g. the Tokyo Art Club Entreprises partnership at Palais de Tokyo). These offer networking between artists, collectors, and brands in the city today. While they may not have the romantic aura of Montmartre’s golden days, they show Paris adapting the art club concept into the corporate age — fostering global appreciation by linking the French art scene with international collectors and enterprises. Whether in a smoky 1880s café or a sleek 2020s lounge, Paris continues to be a pivotal meeting ground for art lovers, proving that the city’s artistic networking tradition is unbroken.
Africa’s Art Clubs: From Colonial Salons to Postcolonial Creative Hubs
On the African continent, formal art clubs were slower to emerge (given that European colonial structures often imported their own cultural institutions). Yet by the late 19th and early 20th century, African art societies began to form, serving both colonial expatriates and pioneering local artists. In South Africa, for instance, artists established the South African Society of Artists (SASA) in the 1890s. Modeled after European art academies, SASA’s founding in May 1897 in Cape Town was spurred by “a considerable growth in public interest in art” locally and the establishment of a national art gallery. Its early exhibitions (the first held in 1897, the second in 1898) were major social events — the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Alfred Milner, served as patron of the society, and newspapers covered these art shows extensively. The Society aimed to encourage art and educate the public, much like its Western counterparts. However, due to the tumult of the Anglo-Boer War, SASA went dormant after 1898 and later revived in 1902. Through the 20th century, SASA and successor bodies provided crucial platforms for South African painters and sculptors — mounting annual salons where artists could exhibit and compete for prizes, and where audiences could engage with visual art in a formal setting. By bringing together artists of British, European, and local backgrounds, these clubs helped birth a uniquely South African art identity. They also signaled a shift: art was not just an imported colonial pastime; it was something Africans themselves would take up and excel in.
Moving into the mid-20th century, Africa’s art networks often intertwined with political and social change. Especially post-independence, new kinds of creative clubs bloomed — not elite gentlemen’s clubs, but grassroots arts centers that doubled as community hubs. In apartheid-era South Africa, multi-racial art centers like the Federated Union of Black Artists (FUBA) in 1970s Johannesburg became sanctuaries where black and white artists could collaborate away from the regime’s eyes. These centers were part gallery, part workshop, part social club — and they played a covert role in resistance, as one author noted: art centers served a “second function” as gathering places when political meetings were banned. This illustrates how, in Africa, art clubs have sometimes carried an extra burden: fostering art while also forging social unity or activism.
A shining example of an African art club that gained international renown is Nigeria’s Mbari Artists and Writers Club. Founded in 1961 in the city of Ibadan by a cosmopolitan group including German scholar Ulli Beier and Nigerian writers like Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe, Mbari was both a physical space (a converted restaurant) and an intellectual movement. The name “Mbari,” suggested by Achebe, comes from an Igbo concept of creative creation. True to its name, the club brought together writers, visual artists, musicians, and actors from across Africa and the African diaspora. It quickly became synonymous with the postcolonial cultural renaissance of the 1960s. As The Daily Telegraph noted, “the Mbari Club became synonymous with the optimism and creative exuberance of Africa’s post-independence era,” attracting artists and writers from all over Africa, America and the Caribbean. Jazz legend Fela Kuti made his debut as a bandleader at Mbari, and global figures like Langston Hughes and visual artist Jacob Lawrence visited to perform or exhibit. Mbari’s impact was profound: it provided a launchpad for modern Nigerian literature and art, publishing early works by poets and playwrights (it ran a publishing imprint that was the only African-based publisher of African literature at the time, issuing titles by Soyinka, Christopher Okigbo and others). It also hosted theatrical premieres — Soyinka’s The Trials of Brother Jeropremiered on the Mbari stage — and organized art exhibitions that gave visibility to young Nigerian painters like Bruce Onobrakpeya and Demas Nwoko. Importantly, Mbari was not about elitism: it was an inclusive creative crucible in a newly independent nation, where seasoned writers mentored youth, and traditional African themes merged with contemporary expression. Though the Mbari Club’s activities waned by the late 1960s (disrupted by Nigeria’s civil war), its legacy endured in the artists and writers it nurtured and in the concept of cross-disciplinary African art hubs. Offshoots like Mbari Mbayo in Oshogbo carried the ethos forward, blending visual arts with indigenous Yoruba performance forms.
Today, Africa’s art clubs and societies continue to evolve. In places like Lagos, clubs might take the form of creative co-working spaces or galleries that also host salons — the spirit of Mbari lives on in initiatives like the African Artists’ Foundation (AAF) in Nigeria, founded in 2007 to “encourage the highest standard of art in Africa” and providing artists with exhibitions and competitions as well as a sense of community. In South Africa, organizations like SANAVA (South African National Association for the Visual Arts) maintain artist residency exchanges, linking South African artists with studios in places like Paris — thus plugging local art networks into global ones. What’s common across these is a recognition that artists flourish in community. Whether under a mango tree or in a formal gallery, when artists convene, mentor one another, and share opportunities, the entire cultural landscape benefits. Africa’s experience particularly highlights how art clubs can also be agents of social change and cultural reclamation, nurturing not just individual careers but national artistic identities and cross-cultural dialogue.
Asia’s Prestigious Art Clubs: Bridging East and West
Asia, with its rich artistic traditions, saw the emergence of art clubs largely under the influence of colonial encounters and subsequent modernization. In India, one of the earliest and most prestigious was the Bombay Art Society, founded in 1888 in what was then British Bombay (Mumbai). The Society was initially established to serve European art enthusiasts in India — to “encourage the artistically inclined British in India” — but it soon opened up to Indian artists and audiences, becoming a truly multicultural art hub. The Annual Exhibitions of the Bombay Art Society grew into major social events by the 1890s, written about in local newspapers and attended by colonial elites and Indian royalty alike. Early on, renowned Indian painters such as Raja Ravi Varma (one of the first Indian artists to gain international fame) submitted works to Bombay Art Society exhibitions and won prizes, cementing the Society’s reputation as the arbiter of artistic excellence in the region. The Society’s influence only expanded in the 20th century: it provided a platform for generations of Indian artists, including the modernists who came after independence. By affording opportunities for artists to exhibit and by awarding medals and purchase prizes, the Bombay Art Society shaped the trajectory of Indian art, helping bridge academic art traditions with indigenous themes and later contemporary innovations.
What made the Bombay Art Society especially impactful was its dual role: part club, part public institution. It was run by artists and art lovers (largely as a non-profit), and even without major state support it managed to survive and thrive for over a century. It not only held exhibitions but also published journals — as early as 1910, it released a “Brief Historical Sketch” outlining its purpose “of encouraging art, especially amongst amateurs, and educating the native public to a true appreciation of its merits”. In doing so, the Society played a seminal role in developing an art-appreciating public in India, bridging the gap between artists and laypeople. Even as contemporary Indian art has exploded onto the global market in recent decades, the Bombay Art Society has kept pace — building a modern art complex in Mumbai with galleries, an amphitheater and library, opened in 2016 by India’s Prime Minister. Today, it continues to host annual salons, workshops, and “Art Carnivals”. By traversing colonial to postcolonial eras, the Society encapsulates how an art club can evolve with a nation: from colonial art education to fostering the Bombay Progressive Artists (like M.F. Husain) mid-century, to engaging with cutting-edge contemporary art now, all while promoting the idea that art should be accessible and celebrated by the public.
Meanwhile, in Japan, the concept of an art club took a unique turn with the founding of the Tokyo Art Club (Tokyo Bijutsu Club) in 1907. Unlike the salon-style clubs elsewhere, the Tokyo Art Club’s focus was closely tied to the art market — it became an association of art dealers, collectors, and artists dedicated to the promotion and preservation of fine art, particularly through auctions and exhibitions. Over its 100+ years, the Tokyo Art Club has been the premier venue for art auctions in Japan, amassing a vast archive of art catalogues and records of sales. This might sound purely commercial, but it served an important cultural function: in the early 20th century, as Japan was modernizing rapidly, the Club helped preserve traditional arts (tea ceremony utensils, scroll paintings, ukiyo-e prints) by facilitating their sale to collectors who would care for them, and also helped introduce Western art to Japanese collectors. In essence, the Tokyo Art Club acted as a bridge between East and West in the art world. For instance, by the 1920s and 1930s, its auction rooms saw spirited bidding for both Japanese antiques and Impressionist paintings, signaling Japan’s integration into the global art scene. Members of the club were not only dealers but often patrons who sponsored artists or donated to museums. Today, the club still operates in Tokyo’s Shimbashi district, and has even collaborated with national research institutes to digitize those precious auction catalogues for posterity. By doing so, it underlines how an art club can contribute to scholarship and conservation, not just socializing.
Beyond Japan and India, many Asian countries have their own artist clubs and societies with proud histories. In Kolkata, India, the Calcutta Art Studio (est. 1878) and later the Academy of Fine Arts (1933) provided club-like platforms for Bengali artists. In China, early 20th-century Shanghai had art associations where expatriate and Chinese artists interacted; and in the post-Mao era, artist collectives like the Stars Group (late 1970s) informally functioned as avant-garde clubs demanding space for new art. In Japan again, aside from Tokyo Art Club, groups like Nika-kai(formed 1914) created independent exhibition societies outside government salons, effectively art clubs pushing creative freedom (their annual Nika Art Exhibition became a major forum for progressive art). The common thread is that as Asia modernized, art clubs and societies became forums for negotiating identity and innovation — places where artists could learn from each other, form movements, and engage with global trends. In doing so, they nurtured talent that would eventually command global appreciation. For example, the Bombay Art Society’s early recognition of artists like Ravi Varma helped bring Indian art to world fairs; the Tokyo Art Club’s auctions of Japanese art influenced Western collectors like those who founded museums; and India’s art societies post-independence supported pioneers who would later have retrospectives in New York or Paris.
Each of these clubs balanced respect for tradition with a hunger for the modern. They often had to educate the public from scratch — as Bombay Art Society noted, Indian audiences needed to be taught how to “truly appreciate”art — and in doing so, they built the foundations of today’s thriving Asian art scenes. They also connected local art worlds with international ones, proving that fine art is a global language. In our interconnected era, many Asian art clubs and foundations now partner with Western institutions, host artist exchanges, and participate in international biennales. The effect is a rich cultural dialogue — exactly the kind of global appreciation of fine art that these clubs set out to promote from the start.
Modern Adaptations and the Future of Art Clubs
Having traversed legendary clubs and societies across continents, one might ask: What keeps these art clubs relevant in the 21st century? After all, we live in a time of virtual galleries, Instagram art stars, and global art fairs. Yet, paradoxically, the role of physical art clubs may be more essential than ever. These institutions, old and new, provide something the internet cannot — a tangible community and a sense of place steeped in creative heritage. Many have adapted with the times in savvy ways. Clubs are expanding their admission policies and diversifying membership to include more women, younger artists, and different nationalities (just as the National Arts Club did over a century ago, and Chelsea Arts Club did in the 1960s by admitting women). They are embracing technology: hosting virtual tours (as NAC did with a digital guide), digitizing archives (Salmagundi scanning its trove of photographs, Tokyo Art Club partnering to digitize auction catalogues), and promoting themselves via social media to engage new audiences. Yet crucially, they maintain their historic charm and face-to-face interactions. The value of this cannot be overstated — as Soho House’s success attests, even digital-native millennials crave intimate real-world networking with peers in their fields, and prefer a stylish clubhouse to a sterile boardroom for forging collaborations.
Art clubs also continue to innovate programmatically. Many now run artist residency programs, offer grants or prizes (for example, NAC’s venerable Medal of Honor and newer Artist Fellowship), and partner with schools to mentor students. Some have turned part of their premises into co-working studios or incubators for creative start-ups, essentially updating the concept of the “club studio” for the gig economy. Environmental and social issues are entering the conversation too: clubs host panel talks on climate change in art, or use their galleries to highlight underrepresented voices (Soho House, for instance, has showcased minority and LGBTQ artists from its membership, aligning with its ethos of valuing moral character and creativity over status). This responsiveness keeps them culturally relevant and socially aware.
Furthermore, these clubs are fostering global networks among themselves. Reciprocal memberships allow an artist who’s a member of, say, the Salmagundi Club to visit and connect with peers at London’s Arts Club or Tokyo’s Club, forming an international web of creative havens. As we saw, The Arts Club opened a branch in Dubai, and others may follow suit in major art capitals. One could envision a future where the “art club circuit” complements the gallery circuit — artists traveling from one residency or club exhibition to the next across countries, cementing a cosmopolitan community bound by shared passion for art.
In concluding this journey, it’s evident why art clubs have survived revolutions, wars, economic swings, and technological upheavals. They fulfill a fundamental human need for creative fellowship. The fine arts — painting, sculpture, music, literature — can be solitary endeavors; but artists are nourished by discourse, critique, and camaraderie. Prestigious art clubs, with their storied walls and inspiring members, offer precisely that: an oasis where an emerging painter can find a mentor, where a veteran sculptor can spark a dialogue with a novelist or a composer, and where art aficionados can learn directly from creators. They are places where art is not just seen but lived — debated on staircases, born on sketchpads over coffee, celebrated with clinking glasses in a drawing room.
As the world hurtles forward, these clubs act as custodians of cultural memory and engines of new ideas. In their exhibitions and salons, tomorrow’s movements may be quietly taking shape, just as Impressionism did in Paris cafés or modern Indian art did under a Bombay Art Society banner. The settings may range from Gothic mansions to modern rooftop bars, but all share the same essence: bringing people together to be moved by art and to move art forward. That is why the role of art clubs remains essential. They remind us that behind every masterpiece or groundbreaking performance, there is often a circle of peers providing support and stimulus. In an increasingly virtual era, the tactile experience of stepping into an art club — feeling that hush, sensing the ghosts of past geniuses, and shaking hands with a living one — is irreplaceable.
The future of art clubs will likely blend the best of old and new. They will continue to open doors (literally and figuratively) for wider audiences while preserving the intimate magic that makes belonging to one so special. If you ever get the chance to visit or join one of these clubs — whether it’s sipping tea in Salmagundi’s parlor under century-old oil paintings, or chatting poolside at Soho House with a filmmaker from across the world — you’ll understand the allure. These are sanctuaries of creativity. In a world that can feel increasingly fragmented, art clubs stand as a testament to collaboration, continuity, and the collective celebration of human imagination. And as long as artists seek community and patrons seek inspiration, the art club will live on, nurturing the next generations of culture in ways both elite and egalitarian, local and global, timeless and urgently now.
References
Bryan, K. (2018, October 2). How Did Soho House Build a 10,000-Piece Collection of Contemporary Art? Artnet News. Retrieved from https://news.artnet.com (information on Soho House art collection and membership exchange for art).
Chelsea Arts Club. (2016). History | Chelsea Arts Club. Retrieved July 30, 2025, from ChelseaArtsClub.com website: https://chelseaartsclub.com/about-the-club/history/ chelseaartsclub.comchelseaartsclub.com
DeKay, C., & National Arts Club. (2023). Mission & History — National Arts Club. Retrieved July 30, 2025, from NACNYC.org: https://www.nacnyc.org/about/mission-and-history nacnyc.orgnacnyc.org
National Arts Club. (2021). National Arts Club — Wikipedia. Retrieved July 30, 2025, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Arts_Club en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org
Nwandu, A. (2022, October 1). Soyinka And The Legacy Of The Mbari Club. The 49th Street. (Background on Mbari Club’s impact and members).
Portraits, Inc. (2025). What’s In a Name: The Salmagundi Art Club. Retrieved from PortraitsInc.com blog: https://portraitsinc.com/blog (describes Salmagundi Club origins and atmosphere)portraitsinc.comportraitsinc.com
Salmagundi Club. (2025). About Salmagundi. Retrieved July 30, 2025, from Salmagundi.org: https://salmagundi.org/about/ salmagundi.orgsalmagundi.org
Salmagundi Club. (n.d.). About Us — Salmagundi Club (PDF). Retrieved from Salmagundi.org archives (club history, founding in 1871, notable members, mission)salmagundi.orgsalmagundi.org.
Soho House. (2024). Soho House (club) — Wikipedia. Retrieved July 30, 2025, from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soho_House_(club) en.wikipedia.orgen.wikipedia.org
Soho House & Co. (2025). About — Soho House. Retrieved from sohohouse.com (history of Soho House founding, global expansion, membership ethos).
Tokyo Art Club. (2015). 120 Years of Tokyo Art Club (Corporate brochure). Tokyo: Tokyo Bijutsu Club. (Describes founding in 1907, role in art sales and preservation)cre8ir.comtobunken.go.jp.
Untapped New York. (2013, December 6). Inside NYC’s Gilded Age National Arts Club in Gramercy Park [Photos]. Retrieved from UntappedCities.comuntappedcities.comuntappedcities.com (historical information on Tilden Mansion, NAC founding principles).
Note: All image citations are from Wikimedia Commons or public domain sources. For instance, the image of 40 Greek Street, Soho and the Soho House NYC rooftop are used under Creative Commons licenses.
Next Week: Parisian Palette of Dreams: An Artist’s Travelogue
About the Author: From Boardrooms to Biennales: Dipayan Melds Two Worlds in a Singular Creative Journey
With over two decades at the forefront of digital transformation, Dipayan has advised Fortune 500s and global enterprises across Asia Pacific, EMEA, and the Americas. His consulting practice — deeply rooted in emerging technology, data, and AI — has been recognized through a U.S. patent in cognitive AI and blockchain-based identity systems.
Yet Dipayan’s vision doesn’t end in strategy rooms. For more than a decade, he has also carved out a parallel path as an internationally acclaimed abstract artist. His works — poetic, bold, and philosophical — have graced museum walls and gallery floors in New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dubai, and major Indian cities. With awards from Florence and Venice, his paintings now reside in private collections across New York, London, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
Residing in Mumbai, Dipayan continues to bridge two seemingly disparate worlds — technology and art — offering a rare synthesis of logic and lyricism, strategy and soul.