This guide is designed to help local authorities and developers understand how artists’ studios can be a welcome addition to housing developments.
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
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.
This guide looks at the key financial considerations of developing and managing artists’ studios.
This guide illustrates how the creation of work-live studios for artists can bring benefits to residential areas and local communities.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Advice on leases and licences for studio providers. Member-only resource.
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.
A set of guidance notes produced to help both artists, local authorities and regeneration agencies to establish temporary space for artists in communities.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
NFASP response to the Olympic Legacy Supplementary Planning Guidance: Consultation, making the case for affordable artists' studios. 18.11.2011
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:
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.
This report - by Michael Cubey, 2006 - presents a snapshot of the types of studio groups and organisations the NFASP supports through its membership services.
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.
Key Findings and Conclusions from NFASP's comprehensive survey of artists' studio groups and organisations, started in 2010, and published in 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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Acme's Leven Road Studios in Poplar, London, is a pioneering studios scheme created in partnership with social housing provider Swan Housing Group.
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 regulations and procedures can seem daunting for small organisations, both those just starting out and those that have been established for many years.
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....
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 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.
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.
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.
A pilot project to create temporary studio space and a small gallery for 40 early-career artists close to Wandsworth's town centre.
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.
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 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.
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.
Valentines Mansion is a partnership between ACAVA studio providers and Redbridge Council to create a mixed-use cultural facility combining heritage and studio spaces.