Archive Resources

Browse NFASP's range of resources, including guidance on areas such as business rates, selecting artists' and health and safety, to case studies on developing artists' studios and facts about the studios sector. Access to the website is free.

Setting up artists' studios

Investing in Creative Communities: Artists' Studios and the Housing Sector, NFASP Guidance 2014

This guide is designed to help local authorities and developers understand how artists’ studios can be a welcome addition to housing developments.

Investing in Creative Communities: Renovating Buildings for Artists' Studios, NFASP Guidance 2014

This guide is designed to help local authorities and developers understand how affordable artists’ studios present an ideal solution to the challenge of dealing with empty buildings.

WASPS, Glasgow, artists’ studios, creative business and social enterprise office space
Investing in Creative Communities: Financing Artists' Studios, NFASP Guidance 2014

This guide looks at the key financial considerations of developing and managing artists’ studios.

Artist Beatrice Boyle in ACAVA's Parkham Street Studios
Investing in Creative Communities: Work-Live Artists' Studios as facilitators of creative communities, NFASP Guidance 2014

This guide illustrates how the creation of work-live studios for artists can bring benefits to residential areas and local communities.

A performative screening at Auto Italia: It’s Like Staring Someone Out Who’s Not Even Looking at You  by Kate Cooper, Leslie Kulesh and Jess Wiesner
Auto Italia South East: From Graduate to Revenue Client: A Journey

In this NFASP case study, we look at a model that has production and collaboration at its core, occupying buildings on a temporary basis as the needs of their practice demand to produce, show and discuss work.

Legal structures: governance fit for purpose, NFASP guidance, 2008

The pros and cons of various legal structures for studio organisations and the impact of the Charities Act 2006. Solicitor Nicholas Sharp prepared this presentation for the NFASP 2008 conference.

Finding the right premises
Finding the Right Premises, NFASP Guidance 2011

This guidance is aimed at artists who want to find studio premises and covers some of the basic topics to consider before settling on a building. This resource is available to download to non-members, too.

Manor Oak Studios. Photo: Yorkshire Artspace
Investing in Creative Communities: The Provision of Affordable Artists' Studios, NFASP Guidance 2011

A role for Spatial Planning. A briefing note for planning and regeneration professionals. This guidance offers an insight into how affordable artists' studios contribute to sustainable communities.

Wasps studios in Scotland
Financing creative workspace, NFASP guidance, 2008

This guidance shows how studio providers can seek funding from alternative sources such as funds supporting skills development, regeneration and community activities.They were prepared by Marc Collett as part of a workshop at the NFASP conference in Liverpool in October 2008.

Mushroom Works
Setting up studios: Mushroom Works Studios: need a studio?, NFASP case study, 2007

Buying a building and setting up viable, affordable studio space for yourself and others. Mushroom Works is an artist-led gallery and studio space in Newcastle upon Tyne housing a diverse range of creative practitioners.

Studio space at Spike Island, Bristol
Companies Act 2006: Guidance for studio organisations, NFASP guidance, 2009 update

Arts solicitor Nicholas Sharp has prepared a guidance note for NFASP members that are limited companies. The note covers the main provisions of the Companies Act 2006, which are in force as at 6 April 2009.

Frank To, Wasps Studios
Model Constitutions for studio organisations - Charitable Company, Non-Charitable Company and Community Interest Company (CIC)

NFASP has commissioned Nicholas Sharp, consultant to media solicitors Swan Turton LLP, to prepare three template constitutions (Articles of Association) to help studio groups and organisations that are adopting a legal structure for the first time, and to save groups time and money.

Discussion at an NFASP event
Making your case for public sector investment, NFASP guidance, 2009

Making your case for public sector investment in shared workspaces/studios. This is a summary of a Powerpoint workshop presentation by Deborah Best and Pete Courtie from the NFASP 2009 Conference.

Becoming a Community Interest Company (CIC), NFASP Guidance 2008

A guide for studio organisations on the pros and cons of becoming a Community Interest Company (CIC). Prepared by Solicitor Nicholas Sharp, this seminar paper was presented to the NFASP conference 2008.

Acme’s Copperfield Road building on the Grand Union Canal. Photo: Hugo Glendenning
A guide to securing, supporting and creating affordable studios in London, Acme/Capital, 2006

Artists' Studios: A guide to securing, supporting and creating affordable studios in London is for developers - local authorities, registered social landlords and private sector developers.

Leases and Licences, NFASP Guidance 2011

Advice on leases and licences for studio providers. Member-only resource.

Group show Monkeys with Car Keys at A Space in Southampton
Becoming an Organisation with Charitable Status for Artists' Studio Providers

This case study draws on the experience of A Space in Southampton to explain some of the issues and processes associated with setting up your organisation as a charity.

Bow Arts Trust and Poplar HARCA LiveWork artist scheme
The use of temporary spaces as artists' studios, NFASP guidance 2009

A set of guidance notes produced to help both artists, local authorities and regeneration agencies to establish temporary space for artists in communities.

APT Studios in Deptford, London
Charities Act 2006: guidance for studio organisations, NFASP guidance, May 2010 update

This Guidance is an update of the 2009 Guidance on the Charities Act, including advice from a leading charity law barrister and the recent experience of some NFASP members who have applied for charity status.
 

Acme studios
Studio Occupancy Policies, NFASP Guidance 2011

Advice on Studio Occupancy Polices. This guide is intended to provide a starting point for thinking about the issues involved in  managing artist tenants and devising an appropriate occupancy policy for your studios. It is aimed at small and medium-sized organisations.

Education and Outreach

East Street Arts: Working with Hard to Reach Communities

So, you’ve set up your studios and filled them with artists, developed a programme of events, exhibitions or other activities, but where is your audience? How can you engage new people with what you’re doing and

Oldknows studio space
Artists' studios creating public benefit in Nottingham, NFASP case study, 2007

This case study looks at two Nottingham-based studio groups, Oldknows Studio Group and Egerton Studios, both small-scale organisations, voluntarily run and operating as unincorporated groups.

Bow Arts education programme
Education programmes by artists' studios: Bow Arts Trust, NFASP case study, 2009

The Bow Arts Trust's education programme has gained a national reputation for working with and improving the lives of young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. This case study looks at the development, benefits and financing of the programme as well as specific projects.

Artists’ studios: creating public benefit, Acme/Capital Studios, 2006

Two London case studies of artists' studios creating public benefit: by Susan O’Reilly, Acme and Capital Studios, December 2006. This report provides in-depth information about the public benefit affordable studio providers and their tenant-artists achieve.

Artists’ studios engaging with communities: ACAVA Flying Angel, NFASP case study, March 2010

ACAVA's Flying Angel is part of a mixed-use scheme combining artists' studios and housing for the homeless.

Information about the artists' studio sector

resource
UK Studio List: List of studio groups in the UK, 2012

Compiled in October 2012, this list comprises known studio groups in the UK who are not necessarily members of NFASP. We cannot guarantee that all the information is correct due to the challenging nature that the artists’ studio sector faces.

APT Studios in Deptford, London
NFASP National Register of Artists' Studio Groups and Organisations, NFASP report, 2011

This Register gives us a valuable insight into the range and diversity of the artists’ studio movement which from its origins in London a little over forty years ago has spread throughout the United Kingdom.

Bow Arts Trust open studios event
Facts and figures from the NFASP Register, NFASP briefing 2010

A briefing for studio organisations on the statistics about the studios sector drawn from the Register and how NFASP uses this information in its advocacy work.

A register of artists' studio groups and organisations in England, Acme, June 2006

The second edition of Acme Studios' register of artists' studios in Arts Council England regions. It includes statistics from the sector including details on the condition of studio buildings, leases and rent levels in different regions.

Olympic Legacy Supplementary Planning Guidance: Consultation Response, NFASP 2011

NFASP response to the Olympic Legacy Supplementary Planning Guidance: Consultation, making the case for affordable artists' studios. 18.11.2011

Bow Arts Trust in East London
London studios advocacy, Artists' studios in the five Olympic boroughs, NFASP Report 2008

Artists’ Studio Provision in the Host Boroughs: a review of the potential impacts of London’s Olympic project commissioned by NFASP and funded by Arts Council England, London and the London Borough of Newham and produced by David Powell Associates, highlights how studio providers:

Space studios
NFASP National Register of Artists' Studio Groups and Organisations, NFASP report, 2008

Published in 2008, the Register records the details of 147 groups and organisations that manage affordable workspace in 270 buildings across the UK, supporting around 6,000 artists.

Wysing Arts Centre in Cambridge
Studio organisations: charitable status and constitutional structures, NFASP report, 2006

This report - by Michael Cubey, 2006 - presents a snapshot of the types of studio groups and organisations the NFASP supports through its membership services.

Dalston Underground's House of Dwyer
London Digest: survey of artists’ studio groups and organisations, Acme/Capital Studios, 2006

The London Digest contains key facts about affordable studios in London taken from A survey of artists’ studio groups and organisations in England, Acme Studios, May 2005.

Chris Marshall in his studio at APT, Deptford
NFASP 2010 Survey of UK Artists’ Studio Groups and Organisations

Key Findings and Conclusions from NFASP's comprehensive survey of artists' studio groups and organisations, started in 2010, and published in 2012.

Castle Vault, Dawn Shorten's Fly Me to the Moon
NFASP Annual Report 2010-2011 & 2011-2012

NFASP's Annual Report - Representing artists' studios - making the case, growing the workspace - can be downloaded and read here. This report shows what NFASP has achieved over the past two years and sets out some of our plans for the future.

 

Yorkshire Artspace’s eco-designed studios at Manor Oaks in Sheffield
The value of artists' studios, NFASP briefing, 2010

A NFASP briefing to promote the profile of the sector, and the role of the NFASP in representing its interests, as well as highlighting the issues currently facing many studio organisations.

Opportunities for artists

Exterior of Acme's The Galleria in Peckham, London
Southwark Residency Evaluation Report, Acme, 2007

A studio residency report from Acme's groundbreaking Galleria studios development in Southwark. This evaluation report focuses on the first residency programme at Acme's Galleria Studios development in Peckham, south London.

Artists' studios and social housing: Bow Arts Trust Poplar HARCA, NFASP case study, 2010

A social enterprise for artists and communities developed through an innovative collaboration between the artists' studio sector and a social landlord. Bow Arts Trust live/work scheme in London's East End is a collaboration with registered social landlord Poplar HARCA.

East Street Arts in Leeds
A holistic approach to facilitating artists’ practice: East Street Arts, NFASP case study, 2008

This case study looks at ESA’s artist development programme, which is uniquely tailored to the specific needs of each artist. East Street Arts (ESA) is a visual arts organisation working across artists’ needs. ESA believes a vibrant creative sector is important to a healthy society.

How to Write A Good Press Release, NFASP Guidance 2011

This guidance is intended to help studio groups get messages across to a variety of media channels. There’s an art to writing a good press release and making sure that the information that you want to get across gets published.

Inclusive studios The Art House, Wakefield
Inclusive artists' studios: The Art House, NFASP case study, 2007

The Art House in Wakefield is a purpose-built studio space for all artists - with or without disabilities. The Art House is a unique national membership organisation established to create equality of opportunity for disabled and non-disabled artists and craftspeople.

Managing and developing artists' studios

Exterior of Leven Road showing ground floor artists' studios. Photo - Gary Weston
Developing artists' studios with social housing: Acme, Leven Road, NFASP case study, 2009

Acme's Leven Road Studios in Poplar, London, is a pioneering studios scheme created in partnership with social housing provider Swan Housing Group.

Developing artists' studios with commercial housing: Acme Galleria, NFASP case study, 2009

Acme's Galleria, Peckham, London, is a groundbreaking artists' studio development in partnershp with commercial housing group Barratt Homes. Acme's Galleria is the first project to create artists' studios in partnership with a commercial developer.

Health and safety for studio groups, NFASP guidance 2011

Health and safety regulations and procedures can seem daunting for small organisations, both those just starting out and those that have been established for many years.

Inclusive studios The Art House, Wakefield
Creating inclusive access for studio groups, NFASP guidance, 2009

Prepared by The Art House, Wakefield, this guidance aims to outline the responsibilities of groups and organisations that manage studios for artists under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) and to explore how studios – as service providers – might respond to those responsibilities....

Flamework studios in Plymouth
Insurance for Studio Providers and Artists, NFASP Guidance, 2011

Advice and support on the different areas of insurance relevant to studio providers and artists. This guidance covers the following insurance, which can be required by studio providers or individual artists, such as:

Business Rates, NFASP Guidance 2012

Business Rate relief can be difficult for studio groups to negotiate. In this NFASP Guidance, there are case studies from East Street Arts in Leeds, Bow Arts Trust in London, Queen Street Studios in Belfast and Wasps in Scotland.

Mother Studios, Hackney Wick, London, houses 38 studio spaces
Business Rates, NFASP Guidance 2011

A brief overview of business rates and rate relief relevant to artists' studios in the UK. When thinking of taking on a space, it is essential to consider the implications of business rates from the outset. Temporarily used spaces are also liable for business rates.

Artist Selection Procedure, NFASP Guidance 2011

Advice on artist selection procedures for studio providers. Selecting the right artists for your studios can add energy and vibrancy, and will inform the development of your group or organisation.

Interior of artist Charlie Day’s studio. Photo: Collective Studios
Developing temporary studio space: Wandsworth Arts Village, NFASP case study, 2009

A pilot project to create temporary studio space and a small gallery for 40 early-career artists close to Wandsworth's town centre.

Annette Petch in her studio at Manor Oaks
Developing artists' studios in a Housing Market Renewal area, Manor Oaks, NFASP Case Study

Manor Oaks Studios: Yorkshire Artspace has created affordable artists' studios in South Sheffield through an innovative partnership with Sheffield City Council and Arts Council England.

Yorkshire Art Space
Developing an artists' studio website, NFASP Guidance, 2010

This Guidance Note - Value Added Online - was created in response to two events jointly organised by NFASP and Axis for artists’ studio groups and organisations.

Green Close Studios
Rural artists' studios: Green Close Studios: A grassroots approach, NFASP case study 2010

Green Close Studios are local, rural studios with a global reach. Based in the village of Melling, North Lancashire, this visual arts organisation has has been delivering culturally diverse contemporary art to rural and urban communities since its inception in 1997.

Developing temporary artists' workspace: The Shed, NFASP case study, 2010

The Shed in Gateshead in the North East of England is a local authority project to regenerate the town centre by providing rent-free, temporary workspace to artists and creative practitioners.

Developing artists' studios in a listed building: ACAVA's Valentines Mansion, NFASP case study, 2009

Valentines Mansion is a partnership between ACAVA studio providers and Redbridge Council to create a mixed-use cultural facility combining heritage and studio spaces.