What we do

Artsadmin makes space for brilliant artists to develop and share compelling new work generating connection, hope and change in the world.

We are a charity based in east London. We’re here to make sure contemporary performance, socially engaged and live art practice in the UK is fuelled by the most exciting, genre-defying artists. We work with artists who have things to say about the world in unconventional ways, supporting them to shape their ideas and create unforgettable audience experiences.

We care about art that stirs emotion, removes barriers and encourages connection. Working locally, nationally and internationally, often in partnership and always collaboratively, we develop and present work that is direct, truthful and matters, now.

We make space for artists in four ways:

• Delivering a support and development programme bringing artists, creatives and practitioners together to develop their skills and practice, expand ideas, pool resources, reflect, imagine and hope

• Running our home, Toynbee Studios as welcoming and affordable rehearsal, event and work spaces, creating an environment where supportive communities of artists and arts organisations grow

• Producing and managing projects and tours, connecting powerful art with audiences in all sorts of ways and all sorts of places, near and far

• Changing who gets to make, produce and experience art through specific, purposeful partnerships and actions aiming for a more accessible, inclusive and sustainable arts sector

Why we do it

Art and artists have always been essential to humanity. In an increasingly divided and brittle world, we strongly believe we need art from artists with all sorts of perspectives and experiences more than ever.

The artists we work with are brilliant at questioning the world, challenging how we think, feel and behave, exploring what it is to be human. 

We will continue to work towards a world where a hugely diverse range of art and artists are widely engaged with, celebrated, respected and supported for their fundamental role in breaking down barriers and connecting us to each other.

Our approach

Taking care of both artist and the business of art-making, Artsadmin’s founders made the humble and practical act of arts administration our name. We now call this work producing. Humility, practicality and care still sit right at the heart of our values. As producers and managers, we operate mostly in the background and let artists’ work speak for itself, staying mindful of our role in reaching and selecting the artists we foreground.

We use our knowledge and skills as producers, convenors and facilitators to build relationships and communities around art and artists with social engagement at the heart of their practice. We centre artists’ expectations, needs and ideas throughout. We have a deep legacy of working in this way, and our home at Toynbee Studios represents our approach in the way it is run, encouraging daily interaction between artists, creatives and producers from across the industry.

We believe it’s essential to think and work in ways that are accessible, inclusive and sustainable, and that reach across and beyond borders. This is where you’ll find Artsadmin regularly using our influence to drive change.

By accessible, we mean removing barriers to supporting, creating and experiencing art – cultural, educational, financial, health, physical, psychological, racial, social and more.

By inclusive, we mean being welcoming and supportive to everyone, being clear about behaviour that’s not ok, and consciously creating the conditions for safer and braver spaces for artists and audiences.

By sustainable, we mean actively looking after people, planet, projects, money, buildings and things as best we can, so that we minimise harm and can all keep going long term without running out of energy and resources.

By reaching across and beyond borders, we mean being inspired and influenced by creative practice and producing from all over the world, thinking and working expansively, openly and dynamically, and not placing ourselves the centre.

We understand that all of these are connected and complex, and we are firmly committed to ongoing learning and purposeful action.

Some examples of our action in recent years are:

• Co-delivering the Unlimited commissions programme with Shape Arts to support disabled artists and companies (2013-2022)
• Jointly leading Season for Change with Julie’s Bicycle, an 18-month cultural programme mobilising artists and cultural organisations to put climate action at the heart of their practice and programming (2020-2021), producing the Season for Change Toolkit
• Co-commissioning with 1927 and LIFT the post-Brexit Practical Guide to Touring Across Europe for UK Performing Artists and Companies (2021)
• Delivering Another Route (2022-2024), a consortium-led fellowship programme supporting early – and mid-career artists to internationalise their creative practice.

There’s plenty more to do. We challenge ourselves and the arts sector to be honest about how and where real change is showing up, and to do better.

Our values

These values guide how we work as a team, as trustees, with artists, collaborators and audiences:

Generosity

Approaching our work and relationships with care, warmth, positivity, curiosity, openness and equity

Commitment

Meaning and doing what we say; taking action, being clear and rigorous, and not giving up

Truth

Working with artists to draw out the truths within their work; building authentic and straightforward relationships; reflecting honestly on progress and setbacks; being transparent and fair in all that we do

Collaboration

Continuously practising working well together to understand needs, support each other, grow skills, and strengthen the reach and impact of artists’ work

Change

Embracing change as a constant, ready to respond to and influence the world around us; advocating for change especially around access, inclusion and sustainability; remaining resilient, flexible and hopeful

About the Toynbee Studios community

Since 1995, Artsadmin has run Toynbee Studios in Aldgate, East London, leased from our neighbours, Toynbee Hall. From the outset we’ve rented out workspace to artists and arts organisations and hired out the rehearsal studios and the 280-seat theatre to companies for performances, workshops, gatherings and rehearsals.

Influential arts organisations a-n, Artichoke, China Plate, Complicité, Dance Consortium, Dash Arts, and LIFT work here, along with talented artists Franko B, Richard DeDomenici, Laura Daly, Nigel Edwards,  Graeme Miller, Mark Morreau and Stephen Watts, and many regular rehearsal studio hirers across the arts and culture sectors.

Rooting this community of emerging and professional artists, creatives and producers in a building where work is constantly being imagined, rehearsed, tested and shared all around us is core to who we are and what we believe in. Spread across five floors, this is an inspirational, friendly, hard-working place alive with creativity.