We are thrilled to share that The Garfield Weston Foundation has confirmed a generous grant of £150,000 towards redevelopment of our Deptford studios.
The Trustees were fully behind our vision to refurbish and extend Cockpit Deptford to create a thriving hub for craft, providing additional affordable artist studios and opening up spaces for community workshops, events and training.
The Trustees commented on the importance of affordable spaces for artists, craftspeople and makers to be able to work and develop their careers, especially as London is such an expensive place to live.
In 2018 the GLA reported that 67% of all workspaces for artists had permanently closed, with a further 24% of remaining studios likely to shut within five years. Specialist craft studios, rather than generic artists’ studios, are particularly at risk. Already operating at full capacity, we are currently unable to meet growing demand for studio spaces.
By increasing affordable studio space, the project will enable us to continue to support new makers. We are extremely grateful that the Trustees recognised the importance of our project and have chosen to support it so generously.
Having now passed RIBA Stage 3 with our project we are fully go to grow studio provision in Deptford from 60 to 80 independent creative practitioners. We will deliver expanded specialist, affordable studios for makers, shared equipment hubs, and a new flexible education space to meet growing demand for events and practical workshops.
A very big thank you to The Garfield Weston Foundation for supporting this development to deliver increased studio capacity and create for-purpose studio spaces for our community of contemporary craftspeople.
This grant is especially appreciated given the Foundation’s earlier support for Cockpit and our digital transformation through their Weston Culture Fund.
