Somerset House: London's best kept secret?

Somerset House has been an essential part of the London landscape for hundreds of years, with its magnificent architecture and prominent location near the River Thames and the Covent Garden area.

But its leaders say its current role as a center for arts and culture is not fully understood, with one even describing it as “the best kept secret in London and the UK”.

While its arena is well known as a stunning venue for winter ice rinks and summer movie screenings, people are less aware that hundreds of artists and creatives work within its walls.

As it approaches 25 years in its latest guise, the organization wants to raise its profile – in 2025, there will be a host of exhibitions and events aimed at showcasing its artistic endeavours.

Jonathan Reekie, director of the Somerset House Trust, said: “There has never been a moment when Somerset House has been revealed in all its glory. In some ways, next year is an overdue moment to do so.” Who maintains the building and its activities for the public.

Somerset House has undergone many transformations. Queen Elizabeth I lived there in the 16th century, and it has since been home to the Navy, home to the Royal Academy of Arts and a press tax office, before being completely rebuilt in 1801.

“In the 1770s and 1780s, (King) George III needed to build an 'administrative building' for the newly formed civil service. So, this is what he built,” Rickey said as he took CNBC on a tour.

With four large wings surrounding the large cobblestone courtyard (plus a “new” wing added in the 19th building^y century), this stunning Renaissance estate housed the multiple offices of the UK Government's Taxes and Excise Authority for over 150 years – and more recently, the courtyard was covered with asphalt and used as a car park.

In 1997, the House gained charitable status after a long campaign led by author and newspaper editor Simon Jenkins and philanthropist Lord Rothschild. “When Somerset House… opened to the public in May 2000, this building was still mostly filled with civil servants,” Ricky said.

“My predecessors had to negotiate with every government department to get rid of them,” he said. The tax authority – now known as His Majesty's Revenue and Customs – finally closed its office at Somerset House in 2011.

Its current role is as a “self-sustaining home for cultural innovators”, according to Somerset House Trust chair Jill Reback, who spoke at an event in September. Its various aspects are not always well understood, she added. When the fire broke out in August, there was an “outpouring of anxiety,” but “people had a hard time describing the Somerset House,” Reback said of news reports at the time. “This is our fault, in a way, and it's something we want to correct… We're a very special creative group,” Reebok said.

“It's also London's and the UK's best-kept secret… It's really important that the 3 million visitors who come through our doors actually know what's going on underneath,” she said. Somerset House was the tenth most visited attraction in the UK in 2023, with 2.7 million visits. According to Association of Leading Tourist Attractions.

Rybak pointed to the network of rooms and areas that are home to many artists and creatives who work from the building, in offices, co-working spaces, and studios.

When Ricky joined the organization in 2014, he was asked what Somerset House should look like. “Part of the question in terms of how to function as a cultural space is: What can you do with a lot of rooms?” He said.

One of Ricky's first tasks was to convert what was essentially a long corridor of government offices into desirable rooms for artists – who now make up Somerset House Studios – to raise funds to do so from scratch. Artists' rent is supported by the activities of Somerset House: it generates most of its income – £21.2 million ($27.5 million) for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2023 – from its own events such as the ice rink and art exhibitions organized in-house, as well as from leasing space to other organizations such as the contemporary African art gallery 1-54.

There are now between 60 and 70 artists, teams or collectives working in the Somerset House studios, under the direction of director Mary McPartlin.

The studios' first resident in 2016 was British fashion designer Gareth Pugh, and composer Anna Meredith was the second, with many others working in the visual arts. “Most of them are doing work that is social in nature…or dealing with emerging, cutting-edge, advanced technologies,” McPartlin said. Artists are encouraged to collaborate – one high-profile name at the studio was rejected over concerns they would not be on site for a sufficient amount of time.

“Community is the most important thing,” McPartlin said. “The majority of artists don’t have gallery representation – it’s a precarious existence… Very quickly, we realized that long-term support was something Somerset House was able to offer.” Artists stay for between one and seven years, and some are on site for up to 10 years.

In 2025, McPartlin will curate “The Spell or The Dream” sculpture by Turner Prize-winning artist Tai Shani, a resident of The Studios, which will sit at the center of the courtyard in August and September. Inspired by the character of Sleeping Beauty, it will reflect “the pressing contemporary issues of our time,” according to a statement.

McPartlin will also curate an artwork by resident artists Lydia Ouraman and Sophia Maria, which will explore the idea of ​​“the right to remain,” according to a statement, while BAFTA-nominated director and resident Akinola Davies Jr. will screen a new film in the courtyard that will take a look at the “daily rituals” of life. Blacks in the United Kingdom

Other highlights in 2025 include “Salt Cosmology,” an installation that will chart India’s internal customs line, the extraordinary story of the 2,500-mile-long fence built by the British East India Company to enforce the salt tax in the late 19th century. century. Choreographer Wayne McGregor's immersive exhibition, called Infinite Bodies, will be the culmination of Somerset House's 25th anniversary celebration.

Close to the studios is Makerversity, a community of around 300 designers and makers, who share a woodworkshop, photography studio and other 'maker' spaces located near the underside of Waterloo Bridge, on the westernmost boundary of Somerset House. There's also The Exchange, a co-working space for creatives, and the Black Business Residency, a program for black entrepreneurs.

“Having great artists in central London seemed absolutely essential…the thinking was to make it completely interdisciplinary,” Ricky said.