Somerset House Studios

A community of artists, makers and thinkers working in studios at Somerset House in central London, run by the charity that looks after the building.

About Somerset House Studios

Somerset House Studios is a creative workspace inside Somerset House, a historic building by the River Thames on the Strand in London. It provides studios, rehearsal rooms and project spaces for artists working in music, performance, visual art, writing, fashion, film and art and technology. Its own description is "a space for experimentation in the centre of London connecting artists, makers and thinkers with audiences". The Studios also run Channel, an online space for commissions, films, podcasts and essays about the creative process.

The Studios opened in autumn 2016 in about 36,000 square feet of former Inland Revenue offices in the building's New Wing. The aim, as the director Jonathan Reekie said at the time, was to keep artistic talent in central London as rents rose, and to create a new kind of space for artists who work across disciplines. Its pilot residents included Gareth Pugh, Charles Jeffrey, Anna Meredith, Larry Achiampong and Katie Paterson. Its pages now say up to 70 artists are resident at any one time, usually for between one and seven years, while an older page spoke of over 100 resident artists.

Somerset House is on the Strand in central London, and the Studios are part of the Somerset House Trust, a registered charity, number 1063640. Together with Makerversity and groups working in critical design and new technologies, the Studios say they form a community of more than 300 artists, makers and thinkers. Public projects have included PJ Harvey: Recording in Progress, Big Bang Data and Bjork Digital. The Studios also run residencies with named themes, including a UNESCO AI Ethics residency, a Performance in Practice residency, a Writers residency and a Creative Technologies Fellowship.

On culture, the Studios say they support artists to push bold ideas, engage with urgent issues and pioneer new technologies. They also run Grounding Practice, an artist development programme. Associate Artists are chosen by invitation to develop projects for the public programme. These are the organisation's own descriptions, and we did not find staff names or a published values statement.

The people who make a place like this work include producers and programme managers, curators, technicians, communications and digital staff, fundraisers, venue and events teams, and the artists themselves who run workshops and projects. It is a useful example of how many jobs exist around making art, beyond being an artist. Anyone interested in producing, programming, digital content or working with creative communities can look at what the wider Somerset House team does. Check the Somerset House website for current vacancies.

What they do

• {'desc': 'Studios and project spaces for around 70 resident artists at a time.', 'title': 'Artist studios'}
• {'desc': 'Themed programmes such as the UNESCO AI Ethics and Creative Technologies residencies.', 'title': 'Residencies and fellowships'}
• {'desc': 'An online space for commissions, films, podcasts and essays by resident artists.', 'title': 'Channel'}

Key facts

• Opened autumn 2016 in about 36,000 sq ft of former Inland Revenue offices at Somerset House
• Up to 70 resident artists at a time, usually for one to seven years
• Part of a community of over 300 artists, makers and thinkers with Makerversity and others
• Run by Somerset House, a registered charity (No. 1063640)

Website: www.somersethouse.org.uk/somerset-house-studios