WHAT WE DO
Artspace Lifespace is an arts charity managing unique venues to provide affordable spaces for artists to make, develop and showcase their work. We offer a mix of artists’ studios and space to hire for exhibitions, filming, events, rehearsal and independent retail across our Bristol venues The Island, Broadmead XP (The Galleries), Sparks Bristol and the Arts Mansion in North Somerset.
Serving the Bristol arts community since 2006, we became a registered charity in 2016, specialising in revitalising forgotten spaces on a meanwhile basis. In addition to providing affordable room for artists, we provide consultancy to professionals such as architects, planners and developers who are committed to regeneration focused on community need.
Any profits from earned income are reinvested back into sustaining the organisation and supporting our creative community. We are funded by Bristol City Council Cultural Investment Programme, Garfield Weston Foundation and The Nisbet Trust and have been supported by Arts Council England to carry out projects such as Futur Ville, We are from Dust Sculture Park and putting the ‘Art’ back in the Department store at Sparks Bristol. Other previous project funders include Awards for All, Architectural Heritage Fund, Historic England, the John James Foundation, the Postcode Lottery and Quartet.
We advocate strongly for the arts in the South West. Through our Residency Programme, the facilitation of network meetings and lobbying, we support individual artists and organisations across all sectors and art forms.

OPEN STUDIOS GALLERY
In September we threw open the doors of The Island for dance and circus classes, tours, exhibitions and artist open studios.
Photographed by @shot.by.dot over two days, take a look through the gallery for a virtual walk through of The Island.

SPACES TO RENT
We have a wide range of rooms to hire over our four buildings.
You might be looking for a large community meeting space in Sparks Bristol , grand rooms at the Arts Mansion or police cells at The Island. Take a look and help us to continue our charitable purpose of providing support and space to the creative community.
Whether it’s film locations, training spaces or messy art studios, we have the right room for you.

COMMUNITY OF CREATIVES
Our newest member of our artist community is Pip Ralph.
Now working from a studio at The Island Pip explores and mixes many mediums including paint, collage, sculpture and many more, with a focus on creating strange surreal scenes and colourful characters from old toys and found treasure, clay, wire and various other materials.
In the past, Pip has made sets for stop motion animations, decor for events and festivals, painted many murals and participated in several exhibitions in Bristol and Bath.
LATEST NEWS
- 💌Artspace Lifespace February Newsletter💌Spreading the love with a Miami night, evening Wanderlands and a morning Cacao ceremony this February in our Artspace Lifespace monthly newsletter.
- 🚲Artspace Lifespace January 2026 Newsletter🚲We’re dancing, biking and flying through the air into the new year in our January Newsletter.
- 🎄Artspace Lifespace December 2025 Newsletter 🎄It’s been an amazing year at Artspace. We’ve got more treats in store for the final month with a New Year’s Eve party, poetry, dancing snowmen and a Global Gift Fest. Read all about it here.
- In Memory of Norman RoutledgeIt is with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Norman Routledge.I first met Norman when he made an unsuccessful bid for Jacobs Wells Baths. Undeterred, he went on to take on The Mount Without, saving it from ruin and transforming it into one of Bristol’s loveliest venues, which generously supports Impermanence Dance […]
- 🎈Artspace Lifespace November 2025 Newsletter 🎈TEXT AND MOVEMENT WORKSHOP Join Dust Ensemble for this energetic, playful and creative workshop, an opportunity to increase your creative flow through an embodied practice. Aimed at creatives: storytellers, movers, dancers, musicians, and visual artists, to foster collaboration and openness to the creative process. Through individual, pair-work and ensemble-based improvisation scores in response to themes […]