Chiswick House and Gardens Trust is repurposing unused and under–utilised historic spaces to become more useful and relevant in the community.
The Trust has opened 19 Artists’ Studios offering affordable studio space to local artists from a range of creative disciplines and bringing new opportunities for open studio events and artist-led workshops for visitors and community groups.
We’re developing a multi-purpose Learning Hub and new facilities for volunteers opening in 2026 and over the next few years will:
- Reach 5500 school children per year
- Reach over 100 community groups and over 7,700 people
- Be actively used by local communities to take part in art classes, health & wellbeing activites.
We’re also co-creating a Community Garden that will offer an entirely new space for outdoor learning and wellbeing activities for community groups and schools and a unique venue for private hire.
Creative powerhouse
The development of the Artists’ Studios has re-purposed historic buildings to create studios for artists and makers.
- The Stables and Mulberry Barns retain some historic granite cobble setts from their use in the nineteenth century for horticulture and stabling of horses. The Barns are now named after a venerable Mulberry tree, one of a pair, the other is situated in the Kitchen Garden.
- The Conservatory Back Sheds run along the full length of the north side of the Grade I listed Conservatory. They are older than the Conservatory (built in 1812) and housed the Victorian boiler and water tanks used for heating, traces of which are still visible.
- These areas have now been converted into characterful and affordable studio spaces for artists, currently hosting 19 practitioners from a wide range of disciplines. The artists have become part of the community of volunteers, visitors, community groups and schools that are drawn to the Kitchen Garden, each adding their own distinctive contribution as well as supporting the local creative economy and engaging with our community participation programme.
Sustainable showcase
The Artists’ Studios make use of energy-saving measures and low or zero carbon technology (LZCT) to cut CO2 emissions by 78%. In the conservatory back-sheds, the existing radiators were refurbished in order to minimise structural interventions to the Grade 1 listed buildings and are heated by an Air Source Heat Pump (replacing an oil-fired boiler). The rest of the Artists’ Studios are heated by electric resistant radiators, and all lighting in all the buildings has been changed to LED.
Chiswick House Artists’ Studios in partnership with ASC
We have formed a partnership with The Artists’ Studio Company (ASC) who manage the studios as part of their portfolio of affordable studio spaces in 23 London buildings, supporting over 650 practitioners. ASC is also a registered charity, founded in 1995 and dedicated to supporting artists, promoting the arts and fostering public engagement. ASC hosts public exhibitions, events and educational initiatives, providing opportunities for artists and local communities. Committed to inclusivity, ASC believes art is most meaningful when accessible to all.
There was overwhelming demand for the studio spaces when they were opened, with over 350 expressions of interest and over 70 formal applications. The selected artists were invited to view and select their preferred space from those available.
Now these buildings provide studio space for a wide range of creative people who draw inspiration from the estate and the communities who use it.
Continuous evolution
The next stage of the project is to build the new Learning Hub. This work began in October 2025 and is due to be completed in summer 2026.
Following that, work will begin to develop a new Community Garden in a previously ‘secret’ walled garden beyond the Kitchen Garden.
