
Outset launched Studiomakers in 2016 in response to a rapid decline in affordable workspace. The initiative recognises the vital importance of studio spaces to a thriving cultural sector in London, and works with partners to deliver innovative solutions.
"London is overflowing with talent and innovation, but our creative community is under constant threat from rising rents and the pandemic has left many artists on a cliff edge. It is more important than ever that we support this sector abd the the next generation of talent, so that they can help drive forward our citys economic recovery"
The Mayor of London
In 2019, Outset was instrumental in conceiving the Creative Land Trust (CLT) which acquires studio spaces in perpetuity, to guarantee affordable rent for artists. In a ground-breaking private-public partnership Arts Council England, the Mayor of London, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Outset committed £7.5million to establish the CLT, working with developers, local authorities, and operators to safeguard London’s creative community.
Recent graduates face the hurdle of securing a new space to work and associated financial pressures outside of an institutional community of support. A recent study has shown that 29% of newly graduated artists have to quit their practice before taking on a studio.
From 2017 to 2020 Tiffany & Co. sponsored 21 workspaces for recent graduates.

In 2023, The Studiomakers Prize formed a new collaboration between the City of London Corporation, which provided core funding. Outset partnered with SET to deliver Prize workspaces in an empty commercial unit on Byward Street.
