Swindon’s first professional art studio for outsider artists opens this weekend. Free entry, DJs, and the Mayor opening the night. Everyone welcome.
Studio BRUT: Opening Night
Saturday 15 August 2026 · 6:30–9:30pm
Arclite House, Century Road, Peatmoor, Swindon · plenty of parking
We are Harrie Dearing and SLART (Steve Light), two Swindon artists who have built the town’s first professional studio for outsider artists: self-taught, overlooked, working outside the mainstream. On 15 August, we want you to see the space, enjoy our art and take a look into our studio.
The night is a display of our work, with a twist: we have each curated the other. Harrie has chosen which of SLART’s pieces go on the wall, and SLART has chosen Harrie’s. Two artists showing each other as they see them, rather than as they would show themselves.
Come and look round the studio space, see where the work happens, grab a drink, and settle in for the evening with tunes from DJ Dust and Moussa Clarke.
None of this exists without our partners. Studio BRUT is here because Swindon Culture Collective believed two outsider artists deserved a proper home and made Arclite House happen, and because Hypha Studios champions turning empty spaces into places where art gets made. This night is theirs as much as ours.
Entry is free, and if you would like to, you can add a donation when you book. Half of everything donated goes straight back to Hypha Studios to help other art projects find their space, and the rest goes into the studio: materials, kit and keeping the doors open for outsider artists in Swindon. Your fiver funds art twice. No pressure either way. Just come.
“What you have to do is to just start drawing, even if you think perhaps that you don’t do it well – you probably are doing something of interest. Start to draw and find out what happens. And, I will mention this in the hope that it may be of some encouragement, I have no professional qualifications at all!”
Sir Quentin Blake, in a message of support to Studio BRUT, July 2026
Accessibility: the studio is step-free throughout, with accessible toilets on site. There is a quieter space if you need a break from the room.
No dress code, no art-world stiffness. Just bold, raw, untrained talent, good music, and the start of something new in Swindon.
Saturday 15 August · 6:30–9:30pm · Arclite House · free entry, donations welcome.
Good to know:
- Is it really free? Yes. Free entry, and a free bar stocked by generous local and national makers, while it lasts.
- Do I need a ticket? Book a free ticket on this page so we know numbers.
- Getting there: Arclite House, Century Road, Peatmoor SN5 5YN. Bus 1B stops at Horseshoe Crescent, an 8 minute walk away.
- Need a quieter moment? There is a calm quiet room open all evening.
- Who is it for? Everyone. All ages welcome.
The shape of the night
- 6:30pm, doors and bar open
- During the evening, a few words from the Mayor of Swindon
- 9:30pm, carriages
With thanks to
- Arkell’s Brewery, beer on the bar
- Flawsome! Drinks, juice on the bar
- WillSecure, security on the door
- Gideon Liddiard, photography
The bar is free and stocked entirely by people who donated to it.
Our partners
Studio BRUT exists because of Swindon Culture Collective and Hypha Studios, with support from Cass Art and the CREATE Education Project.
Entertainment Swindon 
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