Founded in 2016, SET is an arts organisation and a cultural and social initiative that curates an expansive programme of arts, educational, and community projects and events, alongside genuinely affordable artists’ studios for a diverse range of arts practitioners.
We are committed to social justice within the arts and beyond, advocating for equality and the right to artistic expression. SET fosters experimental and radical approaches to creative production, community-building, and both day and night culture. With an inclusive ethos always, SET is a community.
SET’s year-round programme includes exhibitions, live music, performances, screenings, talks, workshops, meals, and much more. We celebrate the eclectic variety of art forms, ideas, projects, subcultures, and communities we programme, collaborate with, or support. SET currently operates one multi-purpose venue, SET Social which features a café and bar and social space and will be opening two other multi-purpose venues in 2026. These spaces host the majority of our public programme and serve as vibrant social hubs for our communities.
SET’s studios accommodate nearly 1,200 members across 14 centres. We support our members by providing access to multi-centre project spaces, workshop areas, social spaces, and by inviting them to contribute to our Members’ Programme—a public arts initiative led by our membership. Our studios are priced bottom-up and are among the most affordable in London.
Our mission is to nurture artists by offering the space, foundation, and support necessary to create bold, innovative, and exciting new works. We believe that the high cost of accessing space and community is one of the key challenges of our time, particularly in London. To address this, we aim to build large-scale cultural infrastructure that is genuinely affordable, quickly responds to the growing demand, and, importantly, is developed in collaboration with the people who use it.
SET grew from grassroots origins, founded by three friends in a single centre, and has since expanded into a 50-person team with 14 centres across London. As we continue to grow, we are committed to preserving our grassroots ethos and staying connected to the communities we serve.