Dr Rhian Scott

Department of Geography, King’s College London.

Mentor: Dr Luke Dickens

Project title: Urban Precarity: Affordable Art Studios and Creative Flight in the Post Covid City

I will be building on my DPhil work as part of this 1-year postdoctoral fellowship, which focused on the labour and workspace precarities that surround affordable art studios in London. Positioning artists’ studios as vital cultural infrastructure that requires investment and support to ensure long-term affordability and accessibility, I will be using this year to explore the contribution of new creative land trust models (namely London Creative Land Trust) to these efforts. This will involve conducting a small amount of research with creative sector stakeholders in London, as well as a small amount of comparative research in San Francisco and Sydney.

Alongside the above, I will disseminate research findings via academic and non-academic pathways, writing academic journal articles, book chapters and policy-facing reports to engage wider audiences with my work. I will also deliver a social science methods training seminar series, that draws on my experience of delivering fast-turnaround policy research during the covid-19 pandemic and shares lessons for adapting academic research methods to engage with the public sector.

Artist’s Workplace Consultation Report

A report by Dr Rhian Scott at King’s College London, funded by Economic and Social Research Council/LISS-DTP:

Based on an in-depth qualitative consultation with over 30 stakeholders from across the creative sector and beyond (including arts organisations, land trusts, studio providers, local and regional authorities, academics and developers) the Artists Workspace Consultation Report gathers insights about the key challenges of affordable creative workspace provision in London and potential solutions to these challenges.