As sky-high rents continue to price artists out of London, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, today announced plans to set up a trust to finance and secure affordable artists’ studios across the UK capital. Drawing on a combination of public and private funds, the Creative Land Trust will offer loans for studio providers looking to buy their buildings, as well as ensuring that workspaces are permanently protected. Khan is working with a group of entrepreneurs and philanthropists called Studiomakers to tackle the threat of gentrification and rising rents in London. Between 2014 and 2019, 3,500 artists are predicted to lose their places of work in the UK capital—a 30% cut, according to a report by the Greater London Authority. Launched in March 2016 and led by Outset Contemporary Art Fund, Studiomakers is working with local authorities, private landowners and property developers to find alternative ways to retain existing studios, as well as create new ones.
“Culture is in the DNA of the capital but we cannot be complacent,” Khan says. “As property prices rise and new areas of the city grow, artists are finding themselves unable to put down roots here. I am committed to improving access to dedicated, affordable workspace so that the next generation of creatives are given the extra support they require to flourish.”
Khan’s announcement comes the same day that Somerset House Studios launches in the former Inland Revenue offices behind the Strand in central London, where 36,000 sq. ft of office space is being transformed into __more than 35 studios, rehearsal and project spaces, catering for around 100 artists.
A group of fashion designers, musicians, architects and artists, including Christian Marclay, Katie Paterson and Larry Achiampong, has piloted the studios over the past few months, with a number of them moving to Somerset House after being priced out of their former studios. An open application process to find 25 new arrivals for 2017 is being launched today. Meanwhile, works by some of the inaugural residents are on view from 27 October until 6 November.
Somerset House Studios will offer residencies of up to two-and-a-half years, focusing on practitioners who work across disciplines and in collaborative ways. Rent will be calculated according to the London average for workspaces. “We feel strongly that artistic talent should not be marginalised and driven out of the city, but has a place in one of London’s iconic buildings,” says Jonathan Reekie, the director of Somerset House.