Critical Cartographies: Mapping Artists' Experiences of (Un)Affordable Housing

Dr Sofia Greaves for Bow Arts Research Group

Project aims

This project will create large maps depicting artists' experiences of affordable housing at the Bow Arts Thamesmead site, and the impact artists have within communities there. The mapping process will be participatory and aims to communicate artists' views to housing policymakers and specialists. We are aiming to influence policymakers and raise awareness concerning the importance of providing long-term affordable creative work and living space for artists in London. As per London Cultural Strategy, Policy 6 / Action 25.

Problem!

Since the 2000s artists have clustered in London's industrial areas and brought new life (Davis 2016). Researchers are trying to represent how artists bring value to communities by living and working there. However, it is clear that there is also an increasing shortage of affordable housing for artists which is worsened by gentrification actually occurring as a result of the value artists have brought to those areas (Watt 2013). Creative initiatives are reliant upon low rents in repurposed warehouses but these buildings are being dismantled and replaced by mid-rise residential apartment blocks which are more profitable - as in Hackney where the borough is being “hollowed out” and “housing options are failing to meet the specific needs of the creative practitioners that require space to both work and live” (Bristow 2022: 4).

How can we address this systemic problem? This project focuses on one Bow Arts site - Thamesmead - a project facilitated by Peabody. Initiatives like Bow Arts address such challenges by providing affordable housing, studio and exhibition space across London. The aim is to ask artists living and working at Thamesmead about their experiences of affordability, and to communicate that knowledge through art in order to influence housing policymakers and specialists. You do not have to live at Thamesmead to be involved in this project.

Get involved

There are five ways you can get involved:

1. Email me and schedule a 1-1 informal interview. I can come to you!

2. Come to a scheduled drop-in session to have a chat and make some art. Next session Thursday 24th July

3. Send me your thoughts, images, diary entries, audio clips via the info box below, email or wetransfer

4. Register your interest in a 2 hour workshop exploring the systemic reasons affecting (un)affordable housing and how we can change things. This workshop will be conducted with my colleague Dr Anna Pagani, Senior Lecturer, Housing Studies/Engineering, King's College London. I have budget to pay 15 artists 20 pounds each to participate in this workshop.

PROVISIONAL DATES

Interviews: 19th June, 21, 22, 23, 24 & 25 July, most of August!
Drop in mapping sessions: Thursday 24 July, most Thursdays in August!
Understanding "the system" workshop: provisional date Thursday 18th September.

I will hold drop in sessions to discuss and make the three maps below. You could choose a map which interests you most.

I will provide all materials, unless you wish to contribute yours. Contribution might involve sharing material which is meaningful for you - photos, leaves, a drawing, stories, either for literal inclusion in the map or as an inspiration. I am open to suggestions. I am currently planning to make the final maps myself, but if you would like to do this collaboratively I would be delighted.

MAP 1. Place identity

About the Thamesmead site
Pride, home, connection, roaming, contemplation, personal transformation, being alive, collaboration, stories, emotion, communities, dynamics, melody, confidence
Poems, tree rubbings, clay, wood, fabric, prints, drawings, observations, poems, thoughts feelings, anything

MAP 2. Embeddedness

About artists' impacts
Relationships, care (not just GDP)
Facilitating, supporting, organising, connecting, instigating, enabling, inspiring, resilience, sharing, helping, building, commoning
Teaching, learning, changes in perspective, opening minds, rethinking

MAP 3. "The System"

Experiences of "the system": uncertainty, insecurity, affordability, worry, stability, settled, security, joy, creativity
The place of Thamesmead within this system
The structure and dynamics of the housing sector, including dependencies, feedback loops, places of resistance and possible places to intervene in order to reshape housing for the benefit of all
To learn about the above, please register interest in the workshop via the box below

What is the point

1. Understand artists experiences in holistic ways

Our experiences of place are complex and often cannot be expressed as words because thoughts, feelings and histories are not easily communicated. By creating maps which combine stories, emotions, images and fabric (for example), we can communicate a more holistic picture of how and why living and working collectively is important for artists. These maps will accompany more "classical" reporting in order to communicate with policymakers and publics in impactful ways.

2. Redefine "Economic Value"
Organisations trying to understand the economic impact artists have within places and communities typically think in terms of money: market-based transactions, creating jobs, generating products etc. Artists might not care or value these types of impact. This project is about better understanding the value artists bring to an area by paying attention to the non-market based exchanges and activities artists lead which are, arguably, also an "investment" and a "regenerative force" (not just GDP). For example, economies of care and commoning (Jackson 2025). By mapping these initiatives we can argue for the sustained inclusion of affordable living space for artists within communities.

3. Maintain affordability for artists long-term

Given that artists bring value to a place, there is a risk of gentrification and development which excludes artists from that space long term. This development may also transform qualities of a site which artists found appealing such as green space and tranquillity. This project is about mapping these systemic problems with artists' input in order to challenge the dynamics of development in London and ensure that sites remain "affordable" for artists to live and work there long term.

Outputs

How will this material be used?

These three large-scale maps will be exhibited at a Bow Arts location in London for artists, local publics and policymakers. The exhibition can be a group exhibition. All participants will be credited if they wish.

Full anonymity will be given to participants if requested. For interviews, I will have consent forms for you to express your preferences
The research will be published with an academic journal targeted at housing specialists
The project will also feature on the Postgrowth Planning Podcast.
Whatever outputs emerge along the way...

See the Research Process so Far

Let me know you'd like to be involved in mapping artists' experiences of (un)affordable housing

If you would like to be involved in this research, to share your thoughts, or talk more please get in touch below.
I will be visiting the Thamesmead site June - September 2025. To know when I am onsite, the best thing to do is follow me on instagram. I will post dates/stories to indicate when I am onsite.

This research is funded by the Bow Arts as part of the Bow Arts Research Group 2025. Registered Charity Number 1046958

Relevant references:

Greaves, Sofia. "Spatial Critiques of Growth" In Critiques of Growth, ed. M Pansera and J Lloveras. University of Vigo, 2024. https://doi.org/10.35869/CRITIQUESOFGROWTH.

Greaves, S. and L. Munteanu, "Editorial. Degrowth Arts Special Issue," Degrowth Journal Volume 3 (2025) Special Issue: Arts 00308.
https://osuny.s3.fr-par.scw.cloud/00lpx0hda0b60cze42cntax4d8pu

Greaves, Sofia, Caterina Benincasa, Virginia Bernardi, and Adriaan Eeckels. “SciArt Collaborations at the Joint Research Centre: Understanding and Evaluating Transdisciplinary Innovation beyond Economic Value.” Technovation 143 (May 2025): 103229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.technovation.2025.103229.

Pagani, Anna, Nici Zimmermann, Alex Macmillan, Ke Zhou, and Michael Davies. “Systemic Issues in the English Social Housing Sector: Mapping Interconnected Challenges Faced by London-Based Housing Associations.” Housing Studies, March 7, 2025, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2025.2467093.

Pagani, Anna, Alex Macmillan, Federico Savini, Michael Davies, and Nici Zimmermann. “What If There Were a Moratorium on New Housebuilding? An Exploratory Study with London-Based Housing Associations.” Built Environment 51, no. 1 (March 1, 2025): 73–94. https://doi.org/10.2148/benv.51.1.73.

Bristow, C. 2022. “HOUSING INNOVATION TO SUSTAIN CREATIVE PRACTICE IN HACKNEY WICK AND FISH ISLAND.”

Creative Land Trust et al. 2021. The Impact of Creative Workspace on Local Residential Property. https://creativelandtrust.org/creative-places-create-value

Davis, Juliet. “The Making and Remaking of Hackney Wick, 1870–2014: From Urban Edgeland to Olympic Fringe.” Planning Perspectives 31, no. 3 (July 2, 2016): 425–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/02665433.2015.1127180.

Watt, Paul. “‘It’s Not for Us.’” City 17, no. 1 (February 2013): 99–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/13604813.2012.754190.

SOFIA GREAVES