What Does Creativity Need to Survive?

For three decades, Bow Arts has worked at the intersection of art, property and community, helping artists secure something increasingly precious in London: the space and stability to make work. As founder and CEO Marcel Baettig argues, supporting artists means thinking far beyond exhibitions and opportunities. It means creating the infrastructure that allows creative careers -and the communities around them – to endure.

What has 30 years of supporting artists taught you about what they really need to thrive?
Artists are naturally resilient people, with diverse needs. With access to support and income, they are able to create connections and contribute to their communities and local economy in a way that benefits others as well as themselves. Two of the ways Bow Arts supports artists in London is with the provision of affordable live and workspaces, and with access to professional opportunities. As a service provider, Bow Arts strives to create and advocate for conditions for artists to thrive in. What artists need to thrive is bigger than just us: we also need a national policy framework that treats affordable creative workspace and housing as essential social and economic infrastructure. Targeted funding, planning protections, investment incentives and support for community-led ownership models that secure creative spaces in perpetuity all have roles to play.

How has Bow Arts evolved as London’s creative landscape has changed?
Bow Arts is a charitable social enterprise. It therefore has a business model that allows it to adapt to changing circumstances. We are an outward looking organisation. In order to work, we look outside ourselves into the world, which allows us to connect with others and create long-lasting, working partnerships with housing associations, local councils and other bodies. These partnerships keep us connected and allow us to maintain a responsive and dynamic attitude. These last few years have been crucial. The city’s creative landscape is constantly evolving, as the needs of different areas and the people living there shift and change – and to ensure that the artists we serve can continue to access stable, sustainable spaces to live and work at affordable rates, we have now managed to purchase five of our buildings: Three Waters and Magnolia House, the Lakeside Centre, our Hackney Wick studios split across two buildings, and we are in the process of purchasing Bow Road and the Nunnery Gallery. These properties are held in trust and will allow us to provide long term support to artists and communities in perpetuity.

Why is affordable workspace so critical to the future of the creative economy?
Workspace is essential infrastructure for artists to exist in cities. Affordable studio spaces give artists the security to take risks, start projects, and create new work. This makes them invaluable within their communities; they create businesses and share their knowledge. Artists and creative practitioners are like the research and development arms of a large organisation – they are innovators, working and testing ideas. But without the support of an institution or an employer, artists have to fund that research and development themselves, upfront. The value of the work going into that research is huge. By the time an artist is commissioned, it’s not just the ten hours they are contracted for; it’s the last ten years of research and expertise contributing to the project that artist has invested in already. Supporting the development of expertise is one pathway towards creating world-class professionals. Bow Arts have one of the longest and most well-established creative land trusts in London. Our mission is to purchase and hold property for the long-term benefit in perpetuity for the support of artists in communities. As a leading and growing organisation, generosity is implicit in how we operate and support the broader arts sector.

What have you learned about turning creative potential into sustainable careers?
There is a tendency for arts systems to focus on events – an exhibition, a workshop, an opportunity. To be an artist with a career spanning 30-40 years, you need a huge number of opportunities. We create sustainable careers through ongoing and sustained input that delivers positive change, and develops opportunities for artists to work.

What can other cities learn from Bow Arts’ approach to building creative communities?
I wouldn’t dream of telling another city what they need to learn. Though I can say it is certainly not a tick-box exercise, don’t focus on keeping the right spread of arts organisations happy. Focus on what will bring and keep artists in your city and what will help them thrive. Affordable workers’ housing and workspace are key to the growth of our cities.  

Where do you see the biggest opportunities for the creative economy over the next decade?
I see the structure of arts funding changing with an emphasis towards partnerships.  And I see the understanding by some of our larger housing associations, local authorities and developers and institutions changing as these organisations realise the value of culture and that clear reciprocity is how you deliver sustainable positive change. For Bow Arts, this would mean continuing to work with forward thinking organisations, local and regional authorities to implement realistic and comprehensive tools that support the sustainable development of the culture within our local communities.