Somerset House Studios turns ten with a big autumn programme

Somerset House Studios is marking its tenth anniversary this autumn with two major projects, a new film installation at its home in Somerset House and a three night takeover of a former power station in East London.

Somerset House Studios AGM @ SHS Photo © Anne Tetzlaff

Ten years of backing artists

Somerset House Studios is based inside Somerset House, the historic riverside building on the Strand in central London that also hosts exhibitions, events, and a wide creative community. The Studios launched there in 2016 as a dedicated space for artists working across art, culture, and technology, and it has since become one of the building's defining projects.

Over the past decade, the Studios has given more than 200 artists subsidised studio space (for up to ten years), practical support, and a community of people working across disciplines. It's worked. Artists who came through the programme have won the Turner Prize, the Jarman Award, a Cannes Critics' Choice Award, and the 2026 BAFTA for Outstanding Debut, all in the past eighteen months alone.

Assembly 2026 at Somerset House Studios © Anne Tetzlaff

Director Marie McPartlin says the anniversary is a chance to build on what the Studios already does well, treating collaboration itself as central to how new work gets made. The programme is funded by the Glass Castle Foundation and the Manolo Blahnik Foundation.

Jenkin van Zyl presents Enclosure

The centrepiece at Somerset House itself is Enclosure, a new film and installation by resident artist Jenkin van Zyl, made alongside Film and Video Umbrella and HOME Manchester.

The film is set in a rundown facility that once let tourists live inside replicas of other people. It follows "Founding Day," when "Donors" have to renew or end their cloned doubles, known as "Cherubs." A former starlet named Mercy comes to end things with her double, and instead of separating them, the process pulls them together until neither can tell where one ends and the other begins.

Jenkin Studio portrait. Image credit Eugenia Shiskina

The film plays inside an installation built from fairground signage, holograms, and props left to decay, so the space around the screen tells the same story as the film itself. Enclosure opens on  24 September until 29 November at the Lancaster Rooms, Somerset House. Entry is free, or pay what you can. After Somerset House, it moves to HOME, Manchester, running 26 February - 16 May 2027.

3 Evenings

For the second project, the Studios leaves Somerset House entirely and takes over a disused hydraulic power station in East London. The event borrows its name and format from 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering, a 1966 New York event where artists and engineers worked together for the first time at that scale.

Gazelle Twin - Teri Varhol

The lineup so far includes Gazelle Twin performing Ragebait and Lawrence Lek performing NOX on the opening night. The second night brings Team Rolfes, making their first UK appearance with The Mustang Speedrun, Pitt Call, alongside Gary Zhexi Zhang, Klara Kofen and Cameron Graham's robot dog take on Puss in Boots. Also involved are Ayoung Kim, Keiken, Earshot, Ligia Lewis, and Xin Liu, with more names still to be announced.

Each night pairs live performance with installations placed around the building. The run also kicks off 3ETV, a broadcast made with Pioneer Works in New York and HEK in Basel that keeps the performances going online for two months after the live shows end.

3 Evenings takes place 16-18 October at 25 Wapping Wall. Tickets from £20-25 per night, with a three night pass priced £48-60.

To read more about Somerset House Studios and discover who's currently part of the community, visit somersethouse.org.uk.