Scotland’s hot topic is the hike in the cost of WASPS STUDIOS. Set up in 1977 by artists for artists, for almost 50 years, WASPS (short for Workshop & Artists Studio Provision Scotland) helped provide tenants with subsidised studios. Now, with studio rent increasing by up to 50%, Wasps is a byword for stress and despair. No longer small, local, idealistic and caring, it’s currently the UK’s most prominent studio provider with around 1000 artists in 20 buildings across Scotland. Giant rent demands are forcing folk out. This charity is no longer charitable; it’s purely business. Big business!
“It’s a monster,” said one tenant. “Wasps has become primarily a property development company, with the artistic community taking second place. It has three entities, Wasps Trust, Wasp Limited, and Industries, run by corporate greasy pole climbers.”
The shock came at Christmas 2022 with ridiculous threats of a 400% rise, a scare tactic soon withdrawn—down to 200%! But hikes plus energy surcharges of 11% have emptied studios. As a Wasps survey showed, over 85% of artists earn less than £10,000. How can we afford to give a third of our earnings to Wasps?
The new chair, architect Karen Anderson, said, “A 400% electricity hike meant we had to introduce a monthly electricity surcharge reluctantly. And ongoing spiralling inflation, especially in maintaining our buildings, has resulted in significant rent rises. The very ethos of Wasps is to provide affordable studios, but that is becoming increasingly more difficult.”
This frightening warning comes from someone who appears more sympathetic than most of the Board. Overall, Wasps management staff must be more in touch and not resort to bullying or threatening letters without understanding artists’ lives or cultural values.
Last summer, tenants organised SOS, a campaign, a petition and a march to Save our Studios. Glasgow’s famous East Campbell Street was being sold off “due to escalating maintenance and running costs.” Tenants say building repairs were long neglected due to expansionist policies. “Why do Wasps insist on over-expanding when they can’t maintain current properties? The extra staff are managing property development rather than property maintenance. We suspect these new building developments came in over budget, thus causing our rents to rise. Why are new buildings empty? How many studios overall are newly empty? How much per square foot for each? Management will not tell us. There is no transparency.”
The SOS petition listed five demands: Scrap the Surcharge, Fair Rents, Stop the Sell-offs, Total Transparency, and Governance Reform. None were met, and in fact, there has been little or no progress.
Perhaps the most critical issue here is Governance. We request a new Tenants Council with artist representatives from each studio building to work alongside the all-powerful Board. Communication between tenants and management is nearly non-existent. There is no consultation. Letters are ignored. Repairs are not fixed.
Currently, there is only a single artist on the Board. Even Anderson agrees that complaints about lousy communication and lack of representation are valid issues. The original Board was predominantly composed of artists and a couple of business people, a successful format from 1977 until 2012. “More artist tenants on the Board is long overdue,” she told me.
This must happen soon. The Board needs to listen to what artists say. Artists were and are at the heart of Wasps. Read its name. Workshop & Artists Studio Provision Scotland. Wasps was very successful. And it’s not a property development company or a rich man’s toy. It’s a grassroots organisation providing studio space for artists.
Many remember the early days with colossal affection, recognising subsidised spaces’ impact on their work and careers. “Ten years ago, my studio was £135. Currently, 3 of us pay 150 full rent for a much bigger space. It’s not cheap but affordable if you are happy to share. If the buildings are to be kept and heated, with staff paid decently, obviously, it’s the reality. I love my space.”
A second voiced a measured response, “Any organisation needs to balance what made it great at the start and less so now. Wasps’ business model now depends on commercial tenants and is skewed towards their needs. Tricky for a registered Scottish charity. Arguably, Wasps should focus on artists’ needs first, but revenue from artists’ rents alone won’t balance the books. That’s the problem.”
Wasps rent hikes have devastating consequences for Scotland’s cultural landscape and society. The Board and tenants urgently need to find a way forward. With cuts in every direction, who among their 50 supporters: Lottery, Pilgrim Trust, Scottish Government, Aberdeen council. European Commission, etc, will step up? Or will Wasps go to the wall, leaving Scotland’s artists bereft? That would be tragic and shameful.
With buildings large and small in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Perth, Dundee, Irvine, Newburg, Inverness, Selkirk, Skye, Orkney, Nairn and Scotland’s oldest artists town, Kirkcudbright, Wasps Board needs to act fast and at the very least, extend a hand of friendship.
Top Photo: Courtesy Julia Bauer