Somerset House Celebrates 25 Years Of Cultural Innovation

Any Londoner or indeed visitor to the city may well know Somerset House due to its iconic seasonal events programme. In the summer months, the 18^th—century architectural masterpiece, found on the Strand on the banks of the Thames, plays host to the Summer Series festival, which has seen the likes of Adele, Amy Winehouse, the Roots and Little Simz play there. In the winter, it comes alive with its iconic ice skating rink, Skate at Somerset House, making it a must-visit festive destination in the capital.

But, what many visitors do not realise is that hidden behind its classical facade, Somerset House has become a thriving hub for hundreds of cultural innovators. This year, it celebrates its 25th anniversary as home to the UK’s largest creative community. Behind the scenes, tucked away in a labyrinth of studios and basement workshops, the historic venue plays host to some 2,000 cultural innovators, including 114 Somerset House Studios artists and their teams, occupying over 15,000 sq. ft. of studio space.

“What marks us out is the sheer concentration of artists and makers that work here,” Diana Spielberg, Somerset House’s deputy director tells Forbes. “Just 25 years ago, Somerset House was home to government offices—mainly belonging to the Inland Revenue—and the courtyard had been paved over to be used as a car park. It’s been an extraordinary transformation from dusty municipal offices to a bedrock of creativity. We’ve breathed new life into a building that teams with history and connecting this rich past with future-thinking creatives is what makes Somerset House truly unique.”

Somerset House, with its vast Georgian quadrangle dates back to 1547, when Edward Seymour, the Duke of Somerset, had plans to build a palace by the river. It later became a royal palace, home to Princess Elizabeth, before she was crowned Elizabeth I in 1558, and, for a time, it was renamed Denmark House when Anne of Denmark, wife of James I of England moved there in 1603.

In 1775, the neglected building was rebuilt by architect William Chambers, and it became home to the Royal Academy of Arts and the Navy Board, with the first tax officials (the Stamp Office, responsible for taxing newspapers and other documents) moving in in 1789. “In a way, Somerset House was the UK’s first real office building,” says Diana, with the last tax inspectors moving out in 2013.

In the mid 1980s, Parliament motioned Somerset House to become an arts centre run by a self-funding trust, with the Courtauld Institute, which has one of the greatest collections of art in the UK, moving in to the North Wing in 1989. The Courtauld Gallery is renowned for its remarkable group of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings, including the world-famous A Bar at the Folies Bergère by Édouard Manet, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear by Vincent van Gogh and the most significant collection of works by Cézanne in the UK.

These days, visitors can step back into its past and find out more about its rich history by booking the Historical Highlights Tour (£8, Tuesdays, Saturdays and select Thursdays). You’ll be able to view the historical and architecturally-impressive Stamp and Nelson staircases, as well as The Deadhouse, a secret chamber, found under the courtyard, clad with genuine headstones dating from the 1600s.

Looking ahead, what is now one of the UK’s most celebrated cultural powerhouses, Somerset House is gearing up for a year of artistic innovation with genre-defying exhibitions, new commissions and events to showcase the range of cross-disciplinary work from its unrivalled resident creative community.

SOIL: The World at Our Feet (until 13 April 2025) is a thought-provoking exhibition which dives into the wonder of soil and its unbreakable bond to all life on Earth. Through a range of artworks, artefacts and innovative use of media, from 50 artists such as Sam Williams, Something & Son and Marshmalllow Laser Feast, visitors are invited to reconsider the crucial role soil plays in our planet’s health. The exhibition delivers a message of hope and urgency, encouraging a more sustainable, harmonious relationship with the Earth—if we choose to act now.

The exhibition brings together a range of stories and responses to soil from a group of global artists, writers, musicians and scientists. Combining sensory artworks, historical objects, scientific artefacts and documentary evidence, the exhibition sets out to inspire and educate visitors about the power and the fragility of soil, its fundamental role in human civilisation and its remarkable potential to heal our planet.

Salt Cosmologies (until 27 April 2025), meanwhile, explores the complex web of. histories and myths around Britain’s imperial salt monopoly in India. The multi-dimensional project by Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser) features a striking open-air fabric installation that is 80 metres in length and two and a half meters in height. It references the Inland Customs Line, a monumental 2,500 mile-long ‘hedge’ composed of living vegetation created by the British to enforce salt taxation during colonial rule. Its an interesting riff on Somerset House’s relationship with tax collecting.

Also part of the event is a poignant indoor exhibition, occupying spaces formerly used to administer Britain’s colonial-era salt tax, includes salt-printed imagery of the hedge. They were created by Hylozoic/Desires using AI and Victorian printing techniques, and can be seen on the newly restored Salt Stairs, alongside photography of Sambhar Lake, a British salt outpost.

In the summer, The Spell or The Dream (8 August-25 September 2025), by Tai Shani, will include a large courtyard sculpture by the Turner Prize-winning artist and Somerset House Studios’ resident. While, later in the year, Wayne McGregor: INFINITE BODIES (24 October 2025-22 February 2026), will be the first ever exhibition exploring the polymath practice of acclaimed choreographer, Sir Wayne McGregor.

As part of the annual Summer Series, Somerset House Studios’ resident, Akinola Davies Jr., will premiere his latest film, capturing the everyday rituals that shape the rhythms of Black life in the UK. The screening will be accompanied by live music, creating a unique and immersive experience.

“There’s always new art or something to see of interest at Somerset House,” says Diana. “Last year, we had 2.5m visitors. The building’s Neoclassical architecture is undoubtedly impressive, yes, but perhaps, what is most interesting are the parts of the building that most visitors don’t see.”

As well as artists’ studios and shared workspaces (where artists, writers and journalists are encouraged to share ideas and collaborate), the building is also home to some 96 resident artists and creatives featured in Somerset House’s cultural programme, who are busy beavering away in a warren of workshops, rooms and co-working spaces.

At any one time, you might be brushing shoulders with a fashion designer, tech maverick or musician. “Some creatives are working on a single project; while others take up residencies for up to seven years,” explains Diana. “There are creative start-ups, micro businesses, under-represented artists—the idea is to always cross-pollinate, to collaborate, to give back, where possible,” she says. “There’s always a buzz, a real energy when you enter these spaces. Many of our artists have gone on to win awards and make it big in their disciplines.”

One of Somerset House’s first creative residents, Makerversity recently celebrated its tenth anniversary. The pioneering community of over 300 creatives works at the intersection of design, engineering and digital practice, developing ground-breaking solutions for the world’s biggest challenges, including climate change, health and inequality. Their workshops feature walls of old-fashioned carpentry tools, as well as futuristic 3D printers.

Also innovating out of sight are 66 early-stage, black-led creative enterprises which are part of the Black Business Residency. Artcha Series, for example, is a streetwear brand raising awareness of neurodiversity and Power Out of Restriction (POOR Collective) is a London-based social enterprise dedicated to the development of communities within the built environment and driving positive social change.

A house of two parts, Somerset House is, of course, known for its blockbuster attractions—whether that is the large-scale art installations, hosting London Fashion Week or turning the courtyard into a winter wonderland at Christmas-time. But it is also the address that has opened its doors to the most exciting of UK creatives, who are pushing the boundaries in one of London’s finest buildings. What would the tax collectors think?