IT’S AN UNLOVELY part of Edinburgh, the end point for the Ocean Terminal tram, which glides to a halt in front of what is clearly a stalled 1990s regeneration project. Unlovely blocks of flats face an ugly shopping centre across a deserted dual carriageway. Next door, where once there was a large Debenhams and a car park, the buildings have been flattened, with diggers now busy clearing away the debris. But from the eighth floor of Ocean Point, a glass-walled office block opposite the demolition site, the view is stunning. Great stretches of pale, silvery sea are lit by a burst of welcome Edinburgh spring sunshine, illuminating the wide expanse of Leith harbour, the vistas of which once sparked the aforementioned waterfront regeneration scheme.
And yet now this office building is filled with artists. There could hardly be a greater contrast with the stereotypical young artist’s studio – all cramped quarters with no heating and poor light. But not only do the artists that occupy this building have lashings of natural light, they also don’t pay a penny for the space.
Ocean Point is one of many properties across Scotland now operating under the auspices of Outer Spaces, an organisation set up by Shân Edwards in 2021 to ‘build a new infrastructure for arts in Scotland’, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Taking advantage of the current downturn in retail and office occupancy, Edwards saw that landlords benefitted from their empty commercial buildings being inhabited by artists and worked with landlords, agents and artists to set up a system that worked for all parties. Khadea Santi, communities co-ordinator, who is showing us around Ocean Point on this spring day, elaborates: ‘For artists it’s a chance to have a really good-sized studio where they are not limited by costs per square metre. We cover the building’s heating costs and landlords cover lighting and water. They save a lot through rates relief by having the building occupied.’
To date, Outer Spaces is working with 13 local authorities across Scotland and has provided studio space for over 900 artists. In Edinburgh alone, Santi says there are 280 artists enjoying free studio space. In Glasgow it’s higher – close to 400, many of them Glasgow School of Art (GSA) graduates and students.
Outer Spaces instructs all occupants in health and safety procedures, and does a thorough condition check and risk assessment of each building. ‘We have to return it back in the same condition’ says Santi. Unsurprisingly, she tells us: ‘We have a waiting list. We say we have a new building coming on, are you interested? And they get really excited. We kind of want to create a community spirit in the building. We try and pair people so there’s a good energy for each space. People also have the choice.’ The occupants are also encouraged to collaborate, to put on their own exhibitions and events. And adaptation or personalisation is often possible – especially where a building is clearly in need of refurbishment – including opening spaces up to the community.
At Ocean Point, there are roughly 80 artists in residence, and they have been allowed to instal a ‘sonic experimentation’ workshop. Also, on the sixth floor Santi shows us around a vast performance space, purposedesigned but light touch. For this, Outer Spaces invited a ‘curator in residence’ (Claire Feeley) to design the area as she liked, with curving curtains acting as backdrops, and pink ‘tongues’ of carpet to delineate space for improvisation, whether dance or theatre. Under the title Dissenter, any of the resident artists can use this space. At the back of this floor, the artists share the space with a theatre company called Curious Seeds, who have their own rehearsal space.
Outer Spaces also secures grants to commission work, much of it aiming to enrich the conversations between creatives and the local community. A prime example, which came to fruition in March 2025, is a project in Aberdeen, where Outer Spaces currently works with 88 artists across 20 properties. Three local artists spent six months working with local communities around the subject of mental health. The resulting works were displayed both inside and outside a disused commercial building in the city centre.
It’s a neat resolution of the age-old urban regen problems where artists reclaim abandoned neighbourhoods, and make them desirable, only to be pushed out when property values rise. Here, both parties have agency. Speaking of which, there are new plans for the regeneration of Leith and Newhaven, with new funding and new investors. But Outer Spaces is confident that when their buildings are re-occupied for their intended business uses, there will be plenty of unoccupied spaces for their artists to move to.
