There are numerous active artist-run initiatives (ARIs) in the United Kingdom, often working around and critiquing the functioning of larger art institutions and organisations. An ARI is a project independently run by visual artists which generally showcases the work of local and emerging artists; many exist on low budgets and are managed by artist collectives. In the UK, ARIs tend to be smaller and less permanent than public and municipal organisations and can, for example, become established for the duration of an event or for the period of a lease on a property.
Most ARIs in the UK are funded by the Arts Council, the national development agency for the arts in the UK, distributing public money from Government and the National Lottery.
City Racing: The Life and Times of an Artist-Run Gallery, published in 2002 is a revealing account by the artists, of a ten-year-long ARI based in London from 1988-1998