At the start of 2026 I travelled across the United States researching how artists build and sustain creative communities. Working across five states and seven cities, I spent time in studios, grassroots organisations, public art environments and informal cultural spaces, documenting how creative ecosystems function under structural pressure.

This research forms the foundation of an ongoing period of reflection focused on leadership, governance and sustainability within my own practice in England.

Research Context

This fieldwork emerged from a central question:

How do artists shape environments that build community; and what happens when those environments become fragile?

The journey was supported in part by a Roosevelt Scholarship bursary, with the majority self-funded. Rather than focusing on large institutions, I prioritised individual artists and small grassroots organisations; the people most directly experiencing the pressures of rising costs, displacement and reduced public funding.

The intention was not to replicate models, but to observe how creative ecosystems survive, adapt and organise themselves under strain.

Research Method

The research combined documentation, interviews and embedded observation.

• 5 states, 7 cities

• 25 recorded interviews with artists and grassroots organisers

• 30+ studio, festival and community-led environments visited

• 6+ hours of recorded conversation

• 6000+ documentary photographs

Interviews centred on questions of:

• Sustainability and income

• Access to space

• Informal support systems

• Governance and decision-making

• What would be lost if a creative community disappeared

By speaking primarily to artists rather than institutional leaders, the research aimed to understand governance from the ground up.