Charles Saatchi's burgeoning website for student artists has attracted 12,000 registered artists since its launch in November last year.

The latest initiative from the advertising magnate and art collector seeks to find bright young things on the internet; from here, they can sell their wares in a social community that is a type of MySpace for burgeoning artists.


Stuart – literally student and art combined - is a subsection of Your Gallery, the website Saatchi convened while his new gallery, due to open in 2007, receives its finishing touches.

Your Gallery has over 25,000 artists registered worldwide and this vast virtual gallery provides a place for buyers and sellers to deal, unhindered by intermediaries.

It is a non-profit enterprise and clearly, its success has been unprecedented; the website temporarily crashed in December as over 500 artists uploaded new images and millions of visitors toured the virtual gallery daily.

Saatchi famously launched Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and the Chapman Brothers on to the art world of the nineties, creating sensation a plenty. Now with Stuart his search for hot young talent enters cyberspace.

Saatchi has stated that he will not buy any of the works on Stuart in the website's first year, but has stated that "there are a number of very interesting artists on Stuart that I have already passed on to dealers that I work closely with." Moreover, with his London gallery opening soon there is much for students to be hopeful about. Is the next generation of the Young British Artists a click away?

Stefanie Kirlew, 23, is a photographer and graduate of Goldsmiths College in London. Kirlew was initially attracted to Saatchi’s website because it offers “artists an excellent way to make friends and share ideas with those who hold similar interests to myself.”

Kirlew, in the throes of preparing for an upcoming group show, has received sales inquiries since posting her images online. “It is a great tool in regards to presenting my work to a global audience, and receiving critical feedback from others who utilise the site.”

Adrian Eckersley a painter shares Kirlew’s sentiments, enjoying the “sense of being part of something.” Eckersley, 59, a self-confessed renegade from the English literature world is impressed at the scale of Stuart, and it “even provides a sense of fun.”

Risham Shuja, a freelance artist living in London, was attracted to Stuart as it is another vehicle to display her work, plus “it’s particularly attractive because it’s very well known amongst artists, buyers and the public.”

As with so many of the present generation of artists awareness of creating a name and cultivating publicity, Shuja is adept enough to know that this “site is more useful for getting your name out there and perhaps getting an invitation from a gallery owner.”

Stuart allows the artist to be curator - compiling profiles, essays, musings and all sorts of personal details. Users can flit between emerging artists from as far away as San Francisco to Istanbul and make direct contact with an artist without ever stepping into a physical gallery.

However, is the proliferation of online art damaging the independent galleries dotted all over Britain?

Not at all says Tony Taglianetti, Director of the Brick Lane Gallery, who believes that the real world and virtual galleries compliment each other. “Overall the internet is levelling the playing field, making art more accessible by bringing down the price of art and helping ‘smaller people’ make a start in their careers.” Taglianetti founded the website Artshole, which predates Your Gallery by five years, essentially providing the same service to artists, buyers, and browsers.