Studio BRUT welcomed visitors to its new home at Arclite House, on Century Road, on Saturday evening.
Artists, councillors and members of Swindon’s cultural community attended the launch, which comes shortly after the borough submitted its bid to become UK City of Culture 2029.
The studio was founded by Swindon artists Harrie Dearing and SLART, also known as Steve Light, and provides a dedicated space for outsider artists.
The term broadly refers to self-taught artists who create work outside conventional art schools, galleries and professional routes.
Studio BRUT developed after Swindon Culture Collective offered Harrie a residency at Arclite House, which has been brought into creative use through Hypha Studios.
She invited SLART to join her, with the pair proposing a larger space for Swindon’s outsider art community.
Visitors at Saturday’s launch were given their first opportunity to see the completed studio and exhibition space.
For the opening exhibition, Harrie and SLART selected each other’s work rather than curating their own pieces.
Swindon Culture Collective’s Roderick Hebden said:
“It looks amazing. Last time I was in here, it was really messy. I was just sweeping rubbish off the floor, and they’ve transformed it into a really, really funky space.
“I think what’s beautiful is they’re basically making a community. They’re making a new collective of artists in a different part of Swindon where we didn’t have it before.”
Arclite House has previously hosted workshops and was used as a production space for lanterns featured at Winterfest.
Studio BRUT will occupy part of the building, while other areas are expected to remain available for workshops, events and other creative activities.
Mr Hebden added:
“We’ve got an event planned already in October. Essentially, it’s going to be events, workshops, and anything the art sector in Swindon want to do.”
The launch follows Swindon’s submission of its UK City of Culture 2029 bid earlier this month.
Mr Hebden said:
“It just shows the power of the grassroots community here in Swindon and what you can do when they come together and work together.
“When this space became available, no one took it because the requirement is quite difficult. But by working as a collective, we’ve been able to make the most of it.
“We’re trying to apply for City of Culture because it’s about Swindon people coming together to make more of what we have.”
Councillor Matt Vallender, Swindon Borough Council’s cabinet member for culture, described Studio BRUT as a “pioneering project”.
He said:
“It’s the first outsider artist gallery in Swindon. It’s keeping that momentum going. We submitted our City of Culture bid only a week ago. We’re now opening another art gallery in Swindon.
“This is a fantastic space. It’s a unique use we’ve not seen here before at all.”
Asked about Swindon’s prospects in the UK City of Culture competition, Cllr Vallender said he was “quietly confident” and described the town’s Dreaming in Public bid as “fantastic”.
The new studio follows an Art B.R.U.T exhibition at Museum & Art Swindon in 2025, which was curated by SLART and featured self-taught artists from Swindon and the surrounding area.
Councillor Marina Strinkovsky said:
“I’ve been saying for years that Swindon has endless talent, both in terms of breadth and depth, and I think this proves it.
“They’re all, by definition, all the people who are exhibiting here today have not had any formal schooling. They’ve not been through the system.
“They just had the inner urge to do art, and then they got up and they did it, and I absolutely love it.”
One of the artists exhibiting at the opening said the new space would provide greater visibility for people who have not followed traditional routes into the art world.
They said:
“It gives us the visibility that we would normally don’t get. This is an opportunity for people like myself because I haven’t been through the educational system, but I just love art.
“This is a good opportunity for us to showcase our work to the community. We can’t have enough of this around.”
Councillor Keith Williams, cabinet member for finance and a Shaw councillor, said the project was also an example of how underused buildings could be given a new purpose.
He said:
“To make such a use of this really quite iconic building really is quite exceptional. It’s a brilliant use of the place.”
Angela Atkinson, known for her Born Again Swindonian blog, also welcomed the new studio.
She said:
“I think this is absolutely fabulous. It’s a great use of the space.
“There’s a place for something different, definitely. We’ve got the Swindon collection, which you can see aspects of at varying times in the museum and art gallery in the civic offices, which is fabulous. But there’s absolutely a place for something like this.”
Studio BRUT has received support from art materials retailer Cass Art, while its founders were also sent a message of encouragement from illustrator Sir Quentin Blake ahead of the opening.
The studio will provide a permanent creative space for outsider artists in Swindon, alongside wider workshops and events planned at Arclite House.
