Olympics push out art studios

ART STUDIOS in Hackney could be forced to close as the approach of the 2012 Olympic Games causes landlords to sell up or increase their rent requirements, writes Chris Green

Two premises just east of the borough have already shut down, partly because they fell foul of a Compulsory Purchase Order obtained by the London Development Agency (LDA) in preparation for the Games. This means that the LDA can force the owners to sell their land if they believe it will benefit the borough. Now there are fears the same fate could befall some Hackney studios.

The borough’s thriving art scene has previously attracted some of the UK’s hottest young talent. Tracey Emin and street artist Banksy both began their careers in Hackney, and Jake and Dinos Chapman still live in the area.

Arnaut Orford, of Hackney-based arts charity SPACE, said: “Mostly, the organisations hardest hit will be the smaller studios. The Olympics are pushing up rent, and this affects individual artists because they can’t afford the rent for the space to display their work.”

Joanna Hughes is the founder of Mother Studios, which has been providing space for artists to work since 2001. Luckily, her building lies just outside the LDA’s Compulsory Purchase Zone in Hackney Wick, but she is not optimistic about the future.

She said: “As far as rent goes, we are not being affected yet. But the landlord could easily get rid of us by putting up the prices, which we couldn’t afford because it would defeat the point of being here in the first place.

“I am totally certain that these studios will come to an end, and a lot quicker than they would have done if it weren’t for the Olympics. At the heart of it is that nobody really cares if the artists stay or not. They just presume we will go somewhere else.”

Joanna currently charges between £6.50 and £10 per year for each square foot of space in the studio, a cost which increased last year.

“There are 50 artists working here, and whatever happens I want to be able to keep the price at a level I would have been able to afford when I was an artist,” she said.

Anna Harding is the chief executive of SPACE, which owns many of the studios dotted around the borough. She sees the price rises as in line with current rates of inflation.

She said: “Naturally our spaces are under threat due to rising property prices, but this is not particularly Olympic related. Hackney prices have been going up steadily for years, and the Olympics may just be drawing attention to the pace of change.

“Nothing is certain and artists certainly don’t want to leave Hackney. But the future involves thinking more openly about the type of space artists might occupy, and the terms on which they take on properties.”


The potential for a price hike is not worrying everyone in Hackney’s artistic community – the larger, more financially successful galleries can afford to be more philosophical about the rising expenses.

Ilsa Colsell of Stuart Shave modern art gallery said: “Rising prices might affect the smaller studios and less established artists, but we’re doing quite well here. Artists themselves are part of the gentrification of an area anyway - there’s always going to be richer people driving others out.”

Stuart Shave is currently based on Vyner Street, a popular destination for Hackney artists, but is relocating to the West End in the summer after healthy profits enabled it to afford a higher rent.

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