<p>Within the philosophy of art, aesthetic cognitivists aim to understand how artworks can improve our epistemic standing and how this affects our grasp of their artistic value. Social epistemologists have argued that we often improve our epistemic standing by depending upon the cognitive agency of others. Drawing upon these arguments, I argue that accounting for varieties of social epistemic and zetetic dependency is sometimes integral to explaining epistemic and artistic achievements within the arts. I demonstrate this by showing how inquiry in the arts can be a collective endeavour pursued by many different parties, from the creators of art to its audiences to those who mediate between artists and appreciators. I conclude by outlining several new directions of study that a thoroughly social approach to aesthetic cognitivism can open.</p>