ACAVA

Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art
http://acava.org/

ACAVA, the Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Art, is an educational charity. It develops and delivers a wide range of educational initiatives, aiming to promote the development of visual skills in relation to school and university curricula and beyond, to provide work experience and promote career development. To meet these aims ACAVA provides a comprehensive range of visual arts

services, including the provision of studios and other facilities for professional artists, the mounting of exhibitions, the development of public art and community educational projects, training in the use of digital technology and a consultancy service.

01/04/2026

We've been running artists studios and pioneering community arts programmes for 50 years. Go to our website for regularly updated listings of resources for artists!

Do you have an opportunity you'd like to list with us? Email [email protected] and we'll add it to our website 🌞

09/03/2026

Looking for creative workspace in North West London?

Barham Park Studios in Wembley is home to 31 artist studios set within Georgian Mock Tudor buildings in historic Barham Park. Surrounded by gardens, ponds and parkland, the studios offer a quiet working environment while remaining well connected by public transport.

Studios are open 24/7, allowing artists to work flexibly while being part of a supportive creative community.

Current availability includes individual studios from 174–236 sq ft, with prices starting from £377 per month.

Studios run by ACAVA offer:

• Affordable, long-term licences
• No waiting list to secure a studio
• Access to ACAVA’s network and programmes
• Professional development opportunities

View available studios and apply: acava.org/bp26

artistcommunity londonart creativespace

25/02/2026

Looking back at last week’s half-term fun at Barham Park Studios ✨

Families joined artist to create Family Jigsaws, exploring what makes up our families through role play, felting, emblem-making, an impromptu catwalk and a collective scroll.

Flourish is our free school holiday art programme for families, a space to play, make, imagine and learn new skills together. We’ll be sharing an open call for our free Spring holiday sessions soon, so watch this space 👀

Thank you to everyone who took part!

📍 Barham Park Studios, London

15/01/2026

Looking for a new studio space in 2026? There are only two weeks left to take advantage of our winter offer!

Studios available at:
Ardleigh Studios, Essex
The Undercraft, London
Spode Works Studios, Stoke-on-Trent

Offer ends 31 January ❄️
acava.org/31jan26

18/12/2025

We’re really proud of what we have achieved with our community and collaborators this year. We've supported 400 artists and creatives with studios in 15 buildings across eight London boroughs and sites in Stoke-on-Trent and Essex – including taking over the running of an arts and community hub in Camden.

6,700 people took part in our 380 events, exhibitions and creative workshops. Rooted in the belief to fair access to creativity, space and expression our community programmes welcomed 170 families to our school holiday and creative gardening sessions and 3,100 people spent time tinkering and socialising in our community makerspace.

We created new events that brought participants of all ages together, launched bespoke workshops for team building in our makerspace, delivered a new ACAVA Talks professional development series, collaborated with partners including the and and welcomed four artists-in-residence.

Thank you to everyone who has supported and collaborated with us in 2025, helping us to deliver our vision of Creativity with Social Purpose.

Wishing all our community a joyful holiday season and creative new year. Stay tuned for what we have in store for 2026!

❄️ If you'd like to give the gift of creativity in 2026, please consider making a donation towards our programmes at acava.org/support-us (link in bio)

09/12/2025

A year on from Nick Murray’s Barham Park residency, this short film revisits their exhibition Return to Dreamphone. Nick reflects on researching the River Brent, its surrounding communities, and ideas of archiving, memory, and imagined cities. The residency gave Nick space to work at a new scale, experiment with materials, and explore community archiving and collective action in relation to the landscape. The video also highlights their playful approach to mapping, and how audiences were invited to move, touch, and reshape the work as part of a living archive.

Nick's Instagram:

ACAVA Hosts in has been funded by

Thank you for the wonderful video 🤗

04/12/2025

❄️ Winter offer: 20% off new studios! ❄️

Sign up to one of our studios in Camden, Essex, or Stoke before 31 January and get 20% off your first three months.

Bright, flexible spaces from 165–542 sq. ft., perfect for all kinds of creative work.

With natural light, friendly studio communities, and 24/7 access at two locations, now’s a perfect time to find a studio that fits your work!

🔗 View our winter offer
acava.org/winter20

25/11/2025

We're looking for artists and creative businesses to take over available spaces at our Ardleigh Studios near

Ardleigh Studios is home to 34 self contained studios with natural light, parking and 24/7 access.

Join our studio community today!
acava.org/essex

19/11/2025

Looking forward to this year's winter market at our studios!

Join us for a festive market and open studios celebrating local businesses, explore our studios, buy handmade gifts and artworks, and enjoy a special Filipino BBQ from

🗓️ Saturday 6 December, 10am-4pm

Free and open to all!

12/11/2025

Book an ACAVA creative workshop for your team by 31 December and get 10% off. Connect, create, and celebrate with hands-on sessions in printmaking, textiles, or leatherwork in our community makerspace in North Kensington, whilst supporting our community programmes.

Book today at acava.org/teams

Address

The Maltings, Station Road, Ardleigh
Colchester
CO7 7RT

Website

https://www.acava.org/

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