The Dartmoor Collective

The Dartmoor Collective was founded as an online community for photographers and visual artists working with Dartmoor as their subject, born out of the observation that many talented practitioners were working in isolation without connection to each other. What began as a social media hashtag — #DartmoorCollective — has grown into a structured non-profit community interest company with an annual exhibition programme, a publishing arm, and a bursary scheme supporting emerging talent. The Collective now encompasses photographers, painters, printmakers and artists working across a wide range of styles and media. Its exhibitions, held annually at Poltimore House near Exeter, have featured up to 25 artists at a time and represent some of the most vibrant gatherings of Dartmoor-inspired visual art in recent memory. The 2024 autumn exhibition drew contributions from artists whose work spans contemporary painting, lino printing, mezzotint, documentary photography, collage, letterpress and charcoal. A series of photozines — high-quality affordable photobooks — have explored themes including 'A Worked Landscape' (curated by historian Matthew Kelly, author of 'Quartz and Feldspar'), 'Linear', and solo publications by featured artists. The Hawthorn Bursary, awarded annually to a final-year BA Photography student at Plymouth University, supports emerging Dartmoor photography practice. Members' work has been selected for significant external exhibitions including 'Dartmoor: A Radical Landscape' at the Royal Albert Memorial Museum (2024–2025), alongside artists of international standing. The Collective also runs the Macula programme for young photographers aged 16–21, based in Exeter. A welcoming, non-hierarchical community: open to all visual artists engaged with the Dartmoor landscape, regardless of background or experience level.