The Harz regional group of the Association of Visual Artists of Lower Saxony (BBK), based in Goslar, has over twenty-eight members.

The BBK serves as the professional representative body: membership serves as proof of professional artistic activity for the tax authorities and the Artists' Social Security Fund (KSK). The group organizes annual exhibitions.

Osterode is situated between two regional groups—the Harz group and the South Lower Saxony group.

The South Lower Saxony regional chapter of the Association of Visual Artists (BBK)—active for over sixty years and based at the Künstlerhaus Göttingen—organizes exhibitions and offers courses led by its members. It serves as the natural professional point of contact for artists in the Göttingen district, which has included Osterode since the district reform.

This association is no longer active and has been removed from the commercial register.

The association saved Villa Gyps from demolition in 2011 and has since operated the house and its historic garden as a venue for exhibitions and cultural events.

The villa was created in 1905–06 from a Baroque house that gypsum mill owner Hans Schimpf had remodeled in the Art Nouveau style; the garden, covering just over a hectare, was laid out in 1909–10.

Founded in 1954 and boasting around 310 members, the association supports the Museum im Ritterhaus and organizes lectures, excursions, and the "Osterode Evenings" (*Osteroder Abende*).

Since 1956, it has published the *Heimatblätter für den süd-westlichen Harzrand*—arguably the most important source regarding the city's art history. This publication contains essays on Andreas Gröber, Wilhelm Ripe (court painter to the Schachtrupp family), the Kochendörfer court art studio, and Erna Krüger.

The *Kleines Künstlerlexikon* (Concise Dictionary of Artists) was released in 2005 as the association's tenth special issue; spanning 92 pages, it covers 35 painters and sculptors who were active in Osterode and the surrounding area during the 20th century. It is available only in printed form.

Heimatstube Freiheit e.V. meets every second Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Old School in Freiheit.
Local craft and art pieces are on display.

Founded in 1988, the *Kunstkreis* serves as Osterode’s equivalent to a formal art association: a regional collective of around ten exhibiting artists.

It holds annual exhibitions for members and guests, hosts monthly open painting and drawing evenings, offers courses, and organizes museum trips. Exhibitions are held in the Council Chamber, the municipal library, and the Knight’s Hall at Herzberg Castle.

As of February 2025, the board consists of Chairwoman Jasmin Kuntze, along with Peter Ambrosius and Christina and Volker Wilch.

The association does not have its own website.