Department A started in September 2017. Running the studio has been my full time job for nearly 9 years. Its without a doubt the most fulfilling purposeful thing I have ever done. I’m very much at a crossroads.
We crossed over the threshhold to pay Business Rates two years ago. The Business rates on the studio are currently a phenomenal £821 monthly, it’ll be over £1000 a month next year. As all the other costs have also risen my wage for running the studio has been eaten away at and I find myself now with all the responsibility of running the studio with no income and all of the loss.
I have 4 main options.
- Close the studio. I got a good run out of it, learnt lots, lost lots. The room is now too expensive just call it a day. That would be a shame it makes me really sad thinking about this option. It would displace 15 artists, personally I wouldn’t be able to afford a studio space in Glasgow 2026. And if a room of this size is fundamentally impossible (30k annually) I have to ask what our cultural landscape is going to look like going forward. Not too cultural for a start.
- Charge the artists more. Some can afford some cant, I gentrify my own studio, why should I care just be a business and make more money. This is obviously not what I want to do. I could increase the booth prices but it would radically change who I was dealing with and I’m not interested in working for that. The artists are already paying too much, studio space shouldn’t be so expensive. My cheapest booth is 165pm, most expensive 250. Thats a lot off a good income let alone a shop worker.
- Divide the room into seperate units. Im leasing three units, but it’s one big room. If I wall off the room into separate units (even more investment) we get reassessed and it removes the escalating business rates. Studio saved, no-one has to go, I get my wage back, all great. But dividing the room off into sections really rips the heart out of what makes this studio room lovely. The space must be maintained, once its gone that room is gone.
- An alternative revenue stream. Which isn’t coming from artists and has the potential for growth as the costs will continue to rise.
For the last few months I have been pursuing the option of dividing the room, because I was too scared to try the thing I want to do and I think would work.
Two years ago when the Business rates first appeared I drafted up profile on Patreon. (Patreon if you dont know is commonly used by content creators, podcasts, youtubers. To access their content, or just to support them, you sign up for a £5 month and get some kind of rewards, acccess, content, merch etc)
The profile never made it past the draft as I edited 2 years away and things only cost more. So I’ve been feeling a bit radical, probably inspired by the new studio members, and I don’t want to divide the room. Ugh that would be horrid. Why settle for a back step, its not progress in any way. So fuck it. I’m launching the Patreon. Undrafted. Published.
I’m choosing the path that holds the chance of growth, I’m willing to chance the repercussions will be good.
So for the price of a pint, or a coffee (£5pm) you become a Patreon of the studio. Each month (maybe twicely) you are invited to this months happening. This could also be called a gathering, a social, a salon, an exhibition. A private event for our Patreons where I can present artists in our own environment. Sit, stand, stroll around. Coffee, herbal teas, conversation, people, spacious 1891 grandeur.
If you came every month what do you think that would look like in 7 months time? That’s an option I can get behind.
Link to Patreon Profile
I’ll include this text which is from the Patreon page –
Department A
Hello, I’m Peter Gillies, a visual artist based in Glasgow, Scotland.
Back in September 2017, I began the journey of creating an Artists’ Studio.
It’s called Department A.
A lovely 2500 square feet room on the top floor of a 1891 School Building in the East End of Glasgow. Spacious, bright and warm.
8 years later, the studio has flourished into a beautiful garden home to 15 artists.
I’ll bring you up to speed on the story so far and why we invite you to become a Patreon of Department A.
Why did I make a studio?
Back in 2017, an opportunity came up on a large room in an old school building, which ticked all the boxes for what I needed as an artist, and what I envisaged a studio to be.
After years of organizing art exhibitions, I wanted to channel the energy I put into those temporary projects into something more long-term.
Studio space really is the foundation of the artist’s practice; it should enhance the artist, not hinder them.
So I put the last 8 years of work into building a studio.
Department A is currently home to 15 artists, including myself.
The artists were selected after a cup of tea and conversation, not CVs and application forms.
What is an artist’s studio?
Essentially, it’s a room, a dedicated space, where artists go to create.
Ours is full of tools and equipment to assist in the creation of work.
It’s where other artists are based, so the individual has a sense of community and artistic atmosphere to motivate and expand their own practice.
8 years on, what does the studio look like now?
My direction has to be fluid to change, and navigating the Pandemic certainly brought the necessity to change to the forefront.
Department A is made up of 15 artists, mostly previously unconnected to me and each other. A mix of ages and vibes.
A garden with lots of different plants doing their thing.
The studio format has been built so it can adapt and change easily. And it has, I have redesigned the space several times to match the increasing costs since 2017.
Why be a Patron of the studio?
Why be a Patron of the studio? The question for both us is ‘what do I get?’.
By establishing patreon support for the studio I hope to regain my income which has been lost to Business Rates & the other escalating bills. Im currently running the studio for free & ultimately running at a loss.
For the last 8 years, without overcharging artists I was able to provide exceptional studio space. That’s no longer viable.
Do I keep the studio open?
I either close or charge the artists more.
Or explore alternative revenue streams like a Patreon.
For your patreon subscription what do you get?
Once a month, we shall hold an event, a happening, and the invite list will ONLY be the Patreon subscribers.
You support the studio, in return we invite you in for a special monthly evening event.
You have conversations with artists and other attendees that build with each event. It’s regular. It’s actual. And after a period of time, you realise what you’re part of.
This event could also be called a salon. A happening. An exhibition. A meeting. A club.
This is about attending a event in a special space.
You’ll learn about artist’s methods, how they create.
What message or information are they trying to convey?
It’s a discussion that you should gain from each month. What did or didn’t you like about this month that was different from last month?
Expanding or perhaps just establishing a relationship with experiencing art.
I didn’t have a road map to build the studio in 2017. But I can look ahead from today and with certainty predict what lies ahead.
As costs continue to escalate, I will eventually am being railroaded into increasing the rent. Some can afford, some can’t. I have to gentrify my own studio.
Which isn’t the direction I want to go.
So the necessity right now is to offset that future by building an independent source of finance that isn’t coming from the artists.
For the price of a coffee each month, you get a personal invite to each event.
You may just want to support the studio remotely, but we hope to see you each month, and I look forward to introducing the artists to you.
Deeper Ethos.
They say sometimes your vocation finds you, and in setting up this studio, I have created/found my dream job.
I love it.
I have done this for 8 years just for the love of creating space for artists, making something real happen.
Offering a safe space is important, and I don’t want to make the price exclusionary. I’d like it to stay just as it is.
Maybe you are an artist or already have an understanding of the creative individual.
If you have read this far, then you’ll appreciate that I am out there fighting the good fight for art.
I’m teaching folk to use saws. I’m helping folk with a wee push out of their comfort zone.
I’ve put 8 years of absolute graft into making a beautiful garden.
This space doesn’t exist unless someone makes it exist and maintains it.
I don’t enjoy the admin so much, but the day-to-day studio business is great fun.
With 15 artists to work with, there’s never not something going on.
I work in two main areas. There is studio maintenance, which consists of maintaining the tools for safe use for everyone, building shelves or racks, or whatever needs to be built within the room. As the room changes with the needs of the artists based here, the studio is essentially under constant revision.
Then there is my role working with the artists here.
This can be as simple as acting as a second pair of hands when needed. As a second pair of eyes to help catch problems before they become problems.
Or more active involvement in construction, I aim to help the artists become self-capable, so through the help, there is learning.
Everyone is at various stages of experience, so if someone wants to know how to use a tool, I take the time to show them. And then show them again. And then eventually they are happy to work safely on their own.
There is deep value in the simple things like being welcomed when you arrive, and a ‘see you tomorrow’ at the end of the day. Maybe it’s a chat and a cup of tea, I’m aware when it’s more than just a chat.
It can be talking about follow-up steps on a possible job, advice on a problem situation, or bad contracts. Encouragement. Advice. Taxes. Being self-employed. MENTAL HEALTH! I’ve taken phone calls at all hours, and I’ll check in with someone who’s not been in just in case. These are the things that should be.
My aim is that a studio should be an anchor of stability, safety, and security for the artists. This is very important, and it’s being lost in today’s premium market.
It takes a long time for artists to build up their tool kit; it certainly took me many years before I even owned my first drill. So I made the studio not just a space to work, but a space that comes with access to a selection of tools that I have been expanding over the years.
Hand tools, power tools, printing press, computer and printer, camera, and ultimately everything we as artists need.
With all this in mind, you might ask why not apply for funding from Creative Scotland? Well, if I can make Patreon successful, then we stay independent. The studio stays just as a studio, and I don’t have to dilute and turn it into something else just to meet uncertain temporary funding requirements.
Hey, that’s me. I cant promise fancy merch, I don’t know if I have the time to make hilarious content videos.
My job is running the studio.
Hanging up art, social evenings, we can do that.
Patreon support would allow this all to continue.
Glasgow’s arts spaces are disappearing fast. Come and see this authentic artist run space. It’s a beautiful room because it full of art.
Join us, meet others that found this interesting too. Look at this months art, enjoy a herbal tea.
x
https://www.patreon.com/cw/DepartmentA