The 2010 NFASP survey results
Key findings and conclusions
This section summarises the key findings of the report. Not all data is UK wide. Countries and regions in [parentheses] identify where the data has been sourced. The first set of data related to information available from the survey relating to:
Studio provider groups: general information, organisational structure, aims, staff, funding and equal opportunities and diversity What artists’ studios provide: support for artists, facilities offered and activities run for and with the public. Demand for studios and waiting lists.
- 144 groups and organisations manage 252 buildings providing 5,450 studios for 7,250 artists. [UK]
- In England 124 organisations manage 214 buildings providing 4,520 studios for over 6,200 artists. This represents an increase in the number of artists supported of over 50 per cent since 2004 . [England]
- London has 24 per cent of the UK studio organisations in the UK (35), and 44 per cent of the studio buildings (112). [London]
- Scotland has eight per cent of the studio organisations and 12 per cent of the studio buildings (29). [Scotland]
- Over 76 per cent of the studio space is occupied by fine artists, with painting, sculpture and installation/site-specific work as the predominant practices. 26 per cent of the 5,450 studios is occupied by craftspeople. [UK]
- Almost 4,000 artists are on waiting lists for studios. [UK]
- 40 per cent of groups were registered charities [UK], as compared with 70 per cent in the 2004 survey. [England]
- 58 per cent of studio organisations (84) are companies limited by guarantee and ten per cent unincorporated groups. Since 2004 a number of new studio organisations have been constituted in the new form of Community Interest Company (CIC). [UK] This compares with 36 per cent (42) companies limited by guarantee in the 2004 survey and 29 per cent (34) unincorporated groups. [England]
- Five studio organisations have been in existence since before 1970. 46 were established in the 1990s and 59 have been established since 2000, including 31 (22 per cent of all groups) in the last five years. [UK]
- 37 per cent of studio groups (134 respondents) are run on a voluntary basis with no paid staff, while 85 respondents have some paid staff. [UK]
- Studio organisations estimate that over 4,000 unpaid tenants and users are involved in running their organisations, an average of 27 per organisation, indicating that the sector is hugely supported by volunteering/unpaid labour. [UK]
- 16 studio organisations received Arts Council revenue funding and 19 received local authority revenue funding in 2010 (129 respondents answered this question). Seven organisations received revenue funding from both Arts Council and local authorities. Some 50 per cent of groups receive no form of public funding at all, either project or revenue. [UK]
- 75 per cent of all studio organisations provide activities that benefit the public. Regardless of their size, staffing and organisational status (i.e. whether they are a charity, or not) studio groups are committed to delivering a wide range of activities for and with the public. Almost 90 per cent are involved with exhibitions open to the public, 77 per cent run open studios events and 56 per cent run practical workshops. 46 per cent run workshops for the public outside their premises and 43 per cent are involved with public art projects. [UK]
- Studios provide a wide range of support and opportunities for artists in their studios, ranging from publicity through the group website and participating in open studios events, to access to a range of workshop facilities and creative equipment, to broadband and office support. [UK]
- 41 per cent of studio groups provide professional development support to artists. [UK]
- 28 per cent of studio groups (36 groups) run an associate-based scheme, where member artists do not occupy studios but have access to other services and facilities offered by the groups. Those 36 organisations that operate a scheme have a total of 2,535 associates. [UK]
- The total number of artists involved with studio providers is almost 15,000. [UK]
Information about each of the buildings that each studio provider manages whether rented or owned, general state of the premises, accessibility, business rates, leases (if rented), rent paid, when and how purchased (if owned), and how premises are used and occupied. Note – Not all of the groups completed all of the questions fully.
- Studio groups and organisations manage almost 1.5 million square feet of space in which artists research and create work and maintain their professional practice. [UK]
- Twenty studio organisations manage a portfolio of buildings – 129 buildings between them. [UK]
- There has been an 11 per cent increase in the amount of studio space in England provided to artists in the period from 2004 to
- 2010. [England]
- London’s studio buildings have 60 per cent of the total studio space in the UK (just over 862,000 square feet) and 73 per cent of the total studio space in England. [England]
- Scotland has 12 per cent of the buildings and representing almost 18 per cent of all studio space nationally. [Scotland]
- Of the 214 buildings in the survey, 79 per cent (169) are rented and 21 per cent (45) owned. [UK]
- Studio building ownership has increased significantly over the last six years. Sixteen of the owned buildings were in London, nine in Scotland and six in Yorkshire. [UK] In 2004 only 13 per cent of buildings (22) were owned and 87 per cent were rented. [England]
- 32 per cent of buildings (51 of 161 respondents) had a rental agreement with their landlord of less than one year and 32 per cent had an agreement for less than five years. 18 per cent (29 respondents) did not think they would be able to renew their leases when the current agreement expires, pointing to the continuing vulnerability of the sector and the threat to around 650 studios. [UK]
- Each studio building accommodates an average of 22 studios [UK] (21 studios in 2004). [England] 3
- The average size of a studio nationally is 266 square feet (308 square feet in 2004) 275 square feet in London and over 350 square feet in the North-East and Scotland. [UK]
- 6 per cent (12 buildings) of studio buildings have been designed and built as studio space. 94 per cent of studio buildings (202) have been adapted to create studio space. The 12 purpose-built studio buildings were built within the last 13 years. [UK]
- Of those buildings that had been adapted, 60 per cent (119 buildings) had been self-financed, whilst 81 buildings had achieved specific funding for the project. [UK]
- 21 per cent of respondents considered their buildings to be in excellent condition and 34 per cent good, compared with only ten per cent that considered their buildings to be in excellent condition in 2004, and 20 per cent good. 12 per cent of buildings (2010) were considered to be in poor condition. [UK] 26 per cent of buildings (56 of 108 respondents answered this question) were considered to be fully accessible to wheelchair users and 45 per cent partially accessible. [UK]
- The average rent for a studio nationally (based on 162 responses who answered the question) was £6.80 per square foot per year. The average rent for a London studio was £9.72 per square foot per year compared with £7.54 in London in 2004 and a studio in England, outside London is £6.43 compared with £5.82 on average for the rest of England in 2004. The average rent for a studio in Scotland was £6.65, in Northern Ireland £1.79 and Wales was £4.33.
- 80 per cent of buildings (170) receive some form of business rate relief. Of those, 50 per cent receive mandatory rate relief, 30 per cent discretionary rate relief, and 20 per cent both. A comparison with the figures for 2004 indicates a similar number of organisations were getting business rate relief. [England]