Finding community online: how Falmouth’s online fine artists have continued to create collaboratively
03 September 2026
For visual and conceptual artist Nicky Ruddick, one of Falmouth’s MA Fine Art (Online) alumni, the collaborative way students interacted as a cohort was one of the highlights of her time on the course, which consequently inspired the creation of her own community-led, artistic project, the Ninth Circle Collective.
“From sharing ideas, receiving and giving critical feedback to one another and communicating through message boards, Zoom calls, webinars and WhatsApp groups, the sense of community on Falmouth’s course was fantastic. That being underpinned by a clear ethical framework set up by our course lead, Josie Cockram, who ensured we had the opportunity to be stretched and challenged, meant there was something about meeting online where we seemed to skip the small talk and got straight into the really interesting stuff,” Nicky told us.
Having been inspired by the course’s sense of community, Nicky was motivated to continue to engage collaboratively with her fellow cohort after completing the MA. “I suggested a ‘sketchbook circle’ for us to keep making art in dialogue with one another. To begin with, nine of us agreed and each created a piece of work before sending it on to the next person to respond to. We called the project the Ninth Circle, based on the concept of a sketchbook circle and symbolism of nine in lots of cultures (we had nine members to start with). We then made the link to Dante, and this inspired topics of heaven and hell based on his Inferno and Paradiso.”
“The pieces we created were unexpected and inspiring; we met online to share and discuss. We also shared some very vulnerable experiences, reflecting on politics and censorship, compared western and indigenous ideas, offered recipes for healing, discussed art history and philosophy and much more. Our second circle took longer as we embraced risk, experimented with materiality and our final pieces felt very precious as a result. One fellow alumna described it as “a gift”, as it is something someone put time and effort into.
“The Ninth Circle has proved to since become an inspiration for other conversations and artworks. One of the pieces from the circle has been exhibited as part of Together Stories - Tales from the Community, an art exhibition at Studio KIND in North Devon. Current Falmouth PhD student, Karina Busquets, has also been involved with the project, having invited the group to take part in research with her for Reimagining Gift-Giving: As Practice, Method and Materiality.”
Fellow MA Fine Art (Online) alumna and group member of the Ninth Circle, Sharon Neish, who works under the artist name Coleen Duff, is a creator whose work engages in an interdisciplinary practice that explores questions of power and voice, examining what happens when people and environments are overlooked or controlled.
Sharon has also created her own collaborative collective, MA:KESPACE, where Falmouth alumni meet online weekly for peer discussion and critique. “The idea grew naturally from our experience of studying online,” Sharon shared. “After graduation I suggested to my cohort that we continue to meet online and keep in touch, with others suggesting we should share our current work, as well as artists, exhibitions, books and articles we found interesting.
“In spring, nine of us created our own four-day residency in Wiltshire, exploring the landscape through workshops and walking. Over the summer, we met in smaller groups, including a visit to the Hayward Gallery to see the Anish Kapoor exhibition through the Southbank Centre’s community support programme.
“After attending an alumni workshop by Dr Mark Leahy based on building networks with Falmouth graduates, I’m now looking to expand MA:KESPACE beyond our original cohort, welcoming other artists from the course. Ultimately, we want MA:KESPACE to become a lasting artist-led network that supports graduates beyond education — a space for experimentation, dialogue, friendship and creative exchange.”
Reflecting on her time studying with Falmouth, Sharon credited the regular critical discussions as having created a supportive community amongst the cohort, despite being in different locations. “For me, one of the greatest strengths of the course was bringing people together from different places and backgrounds.”
She added: “When I started the MA, I was at the beginning of developing my own artistic practice. The course gave me the time and space to experiment, question what I was doing and find my voice. It also gave me confidence to tackle political and socially engaged subjects; I explored protest, censorship, and silence. At the same time, my thinking shifted towards ecological questions and our relationship with the more-than-human world, leading to works such as How Does Our Garden Grow?
“Most importantly, I discovered the value of dialogue: discussing ideas, receiving critical feedback and seeing how differently other artists approached their practices. It had a huge impact on me. That sense of community and creative exchange ultimately became one of the reasons I wanted to establish the artist collective MA:KESPACE with other members of the cohort.”
External links
MA:KESPACE’s first open session is on Tuesday 24th November 2026 when prospective members will be invited to join for an online creative workshop. Join in by contacting sharonneish1@gmail.com.
Claim your free ticket Nan Goldin You Never Did Anything Wrong exhibition at The Hayward Gallery, London. Saturday 6 February 2027 at 11.00am or Saturday 20 February 2027 at 11:00am by contacting sharonneish1@gmail.com.
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