The professionalism of artists and further education (FE) teachers is often questioned. This research will evaluate the impact this has on artist-teachers working in FE. Schön defines a professional as an individual who works in a highly specialized occupation. This article examines how this applies to artists and FE teachers, with reference to historical and contemporary cross-disciplinary research. Published research focuses on professionalism in terms of meeting sets of criteria. However, research participants within this study were more concerned with the activities undertaken by artist--teachers and how these reflected their professionalism. The research findings focus on the perceived professionalism of artist-teachers in adult community learning (ACL), a sub-section of FE in the United Kingdom that encompasses adult and community learning delivered to adults aged 19+ but local authorities or general FE colleges.