Artists and their studios: the complexities of artists’ studio selection in creative quarters in London and Southampton

Abstract

Creativity is not defined by space, place or time. However, artists need to find the right creative spaces and environments to work within. This process of selection and adaptation has changed within the last decade. It is now also determined by socio-economic and cultural influences, including the gig economy and a new era of career precarity. This thesis takes a new approach to understanding constant reshaping of urban space and its affects on artists. I will be examining the process of studio selection within formal and informal creative quarters in London and Southampton, by considering the affect emotion and feeling that resonates within artists. There has been a recent abundance of new spaces that showcase city arts culture, but how those are experienced and how connected do the artists feel with these formalized spaces, and particularly how does emotion interplays within these factors? Can any space can become a studio by the virtue of an artist choosing it as their workspace? This thesis will show that what constitute a workplace might not be what the studio means for the artists. Both formal and informal spaces exist, which are (de)legitimised by the approaches used by artists to obtain these spaces. Therefore, this thesis also explores the significance of the spaces of exception and exclusive to artists. This thesis also considers the significance of gentrification and activism against the formalisation of artistic spaces, by those who are excluded by these spaces and cannot afford the newly created gentrified property market. Urban regeneration and artists have been researched through manifold perspectives, most recently due to gentrification (Lees, 2000, Zukin and Braslow, 2011, Deutsche, 1998). Artists play a role in urban regeneration either by being the pioneers of run-down spaces (Ley, 2003), or by playing in a central role in culture-led and arts-led regeneration schemes (Warwick, 2006). Despite the artists valuable contribution to society (Belfiore and Bennett, 2007) gentrification and the increasing rents are restricting either artists life or their artistic activity in the city centres. The following case-studies will also illustrate how artists are existing in contrasting cities of London and Southampton. I will re-interpret the connection of artists with certain locations, whilst exploring the role of affect and emotion experienced by the artists. This emotional relationship, as my work will show, stems from the location of the studio itself, as the physical studio space, its materiality and is informed by the artists past and present. The selection of two distinct cities, both in size and cultural landscape I will explore how affect interplays with the similar and contrasting (in)visible materialities subjacent to each urban space, as the materiality of the studio. This will also offer new insights of the role of artists in small cities. Emotion and affect are often disregarded when analysing the clustering of artists in certain locations, as such the present thesis intends to fill the existing research gap in this field. More than analysing the urban fabric and amenities in the area, the research will look into the different individual preferences displayed and contextualising the different artists background. This interpretation will undertake different methods, as a semi-structured in-depth interviews, participant observation and cartographic analysis. This thesis shows that artists base their studio selections based on their life paths, individual needs and personal attachments over the urban characteristics and various amenities that cities may offer.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Peter Sunley: orcid.org/0000-0003-4803-5299

ORCID for Suzanne Reimer: orcid.org/0000-0001-7325-4368

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