A new chapter for r/Artists

Hi r/Artists – 

Here we are together in r/Artists, one of the oldest subreddits on Reddit. Founded in October of 2008, this community stands as the online home for the idea of what it means to be…an artist. 

This community is older than Instagram. It was created the same year the App Store was launched and the same month the Bitcoin Whitepaper was released. This was the same year CERN switched on the Large Hadron Collider and Marvel launched its cinematic universe with Iron Man. The r/Artists community predates VR and the iPad by years and generative AI by more than a decade. Since the birth of this subreddit, the world of and around making art has radically changed.

Before there were content creators, there were artists.
Before anyone made and lost fortunes on NFTs, there were artists.
Before the word slop became an insult for more than cafeteria food, there were artists.

To be and become an artist means something. But what? We might not easily be able to describe it, but we can express it. That’s why we’re here. Some of us make art to encounter others. Some of us make art to encounter ourselves. Regardless of which direction, inner or outer or both, your creative eye is oriented, you are here in an online community dedicated to the idea of being an artist. That we are here together shows us: artistry is a kindred quest. 

Two strange things have been happening in 2026. First, the question of what it means to be an artist and to make art has become more relevant, more passionately contested as a pressing issue in culture than it has ever been before. At least in our lifetimes. Second, the r/Artists subreddit was considered abandoned. 

Reddit’s admins put out an open call and we are the new mod team that has stepped in to help r/Artists to become a vibrant community again. The first step for us to take is to hear from you:

• What has gone well in r/Artists that should be continued?
• What has not gone well in r/Artists that should be stopped?
• What has never happened in r/Artists that should begin?
• What avenues would you not like to see r/Artists explore?
• What else do you feel the r/Artists mod team should know?

We’d love to hear your answers to these questions and we’re really looking forward to following up with ideas on where we can take this community together.

– your r/Artists mod team