Building the evidence, relationships and practical recommendations needed to support a more affordable, accessible and sustainable future for creative workspaces in Birmingham.

Creative Workspaces is an 18-month, city-wide research project led by CVAN WM, hosted by DASH, exploring the current landscape of creative workspace for visual artists and makers across Birmingham.

The project responds to a growing challenge: affordable, accessible and sustainable creative workspace is becoming increasingly difficult to find and maintain. Rising costs, redevelopment and insecure leases are placing pressure on artists, makers and the organisations that provide creative spaces.

Through mapping, research and sector engagement, the project is building a shared understanding of Birmingham's creative workspace ecology, identifying gaps, pressures and opportunities, and exploring practical ways to support its future.

Why does this work matter?

Access to appropriate workspace is fundamental to artists' and makers' ability to develop their practice, sustain their livelihoods and contribute to the cultural life of the city.

However, there is limited coordinated information about the availability, affordability, accessibility and long-term sustainability of creative workspaces across Birmingham. Creative Workspaces responds to this gap by bringing together data, lived experience and sector knowledge to develop a stronger evidence base for future planning, advocacy and investment.

The project aims to support a more sustainable creative infrastructure by identifying practical actions that can help protect existing spaces, enable new provision and strengthen the conditions in which artists and makers can live, work and thrive in Birmingham.

What does the project involve?

The research combines mapping, participatory research and engagement with artists, workspace providers and stakeholders across the city.

The project includes:

• Research and mapping: Developing a clearer picture of where creative workspaces exist, how they operate and the pressures and opportunities affecting their future.
• Artist and workspace provider surveys: Gathering lived experience and sector knowledge to understand needs, barriers and potential solutions.
• Public forums and workshops: Creating opportunities for discussion, shared learning and collective exploration of the future of creative workspace.
• Steering Group: Working with Birmingham-based artists and sector representatives to provide ongoing guidance and critical input throughout the project.
• Specialist research and consultancy: Drawing on expertise in creative workspace models and supported studios to inform an inclusive and rigorous approach.

From research to action

A central aim of Creative Workspaces is to move beyond documenting challenges towards identifying practical, actionable recommendations for change.

The project will culminate in an accessible final report and a short film, setting out recommendations across the short, medium and long term. These outputs are intended to support future planning, partnership development and investment, helping to inform decisions about the protection of existing spaces, new provision and the wider resilience of Birmingham's creative infrastructure.

The project brings together artists, workspace providers, local authorities, developers, property stakeholders, funders, higher education, cultural organisations and specialist cultural consultants to explore what different stakeholders can do to support a more sustainable and equitable creative workspace ecology.

Project team and partners:

Anne Forgan has been appointed as Project Manager (CVAN WM, DASH), leading on delivery, coordination and stakeholder engagement across the life of the project. Research is being led by Meaningfully Ltd (Ellen O’Hara and Deepa Naik), who will design and deliver the research programme, working closely with partners and the Steering Group to ensure a rigorous and inclusive approach.

The project is supported by Arts Council England using public funding from the National Lottery, with additional support from Birmingham City Council and the West Midlands Combined Authority.

Find out more about Creative Workspaces

This is a collaborative and participatory project, shaped by the people who use, provide, manage or need creative workspace. Read about the research project, its aims and opportunities to contribute.