Everything a journalist, blogger or curious editor needs to cover Studio BRUT: the news, the story, the facts, the founders and press-ready images. For interviews, studio visits or anything not covered here, email hello@studiobrut.art. We reply fast and we give good quotes.
See the coverage so far: Studio BRUT in the press and media.
Download the full press kit (zip, 10.6MB): fifteen hi-res images including studio and building photography, founder portraits, the founders poster and logos.
The news: Studio BRUT is open
Studio BRUT opened to the public on Saturday 15 August 2026, at Arclite House, Century Road, Peatmoor, Swindon, with a launch night officially opened by the Mayor of Swindon. The opening exhibition had a twist: each founder curated the other. Harrie Dearing chose which of SLART’s works went on the wall, and SLART chose Dearing’s. Music came from DJ Dust and Moussa Clarke; entry was free with donations shared 50/50 with Hypha Studios, the charity that turns empty spaces into homes for art. The studio is now open, with a working programme, periodic exhibitions and a free public artist directory. See how the night went in the press and media.
The building: Arclite House comes back to life
Swindon knows the building. The curved-glass landmark beside the lagoon at Peatmoor has stood largely quiet for years, home to relocation firm Cartus but little else. It is filling up again, and Studio BRUT takes the far side: a working art studio in a building most of the town has only driven past.
The story in one paragraph
Studio BRUT is Swindon’s first professional studio for outsider artists: self-taught people making bold, raw work outside the traditional art world. Founded by two working artists, Harrie Dearing and SLART (Steve Light), in partnership with Swindon Culture Collective, the studio occupies Arclite House, a curved glass landmark beside the lagoon at Peatmoor. It is a working studio first, with periodic exhibitions in the project space, and a statement throughout: talent does not need permission. The studio opened in August 2026 with an exhibition programme, an open artist directory, skill-share sessions and a space designed around accessibility from day one.
The story in one sentence
Two self-taught artists are building Swindon’s first professional home for outsider art, in a glass building coming back to life, while the town chases UK City of Culture 2029.
Fast facts
- Founded 2026 by artists Harrie Dearing and SLART (Steve Light)
- Location: Arclite House, Century Road, Peatmoor, Swindon SN5 5YN (far side of the building)
- Opening night: Saturday 15 August 2026, 6.30 to 9.30pm, free entry, donations shared 50/50 with Hypha Studios
- Partnership: Swindon Culture Collective, supported by Hypha Studios (registered charity 1194915)
- In-kind sponsor: Cass Art, the UK’s leading independent art materials retailer
- Swindon is an Arts Council England Priority Place, a DCMS Culture Priority Place (2026), and one of nine places longlisted for UK City of Culture 2029
- The space: open-plan studio, exhibition wall, step-free throughout, designed around accessibility (both founders’ work is shaped by disability and neurodivergence)
- Programme: exhibitions, a public artist directory, skill-share laboratories, micro residencies and free community workshops
- Online: studiobrut.art and @studiobrut.art on Instagram
The founders
Harrie Dearing is a multidisciplinary outsider artist working across visual art, installation and immersive storytelling. An Arts Council England DYCP grant recipient, her work includes large-scale public murals, Wild in Art sculpture trail commissions, and Stories Written in Stardust, an immersive projection installation staged in an empty Victorian swimming pool. As a disabled and neurodivergent artist from a working-class background, she builds spaces for artists working outside traditional systems. harriedearingart.com
SLART (Steven Light) is an outsider and figurative expressionist artist who rediscovered art at 37 and has painted prolifically since 2021: memento mori, spirituality and pop culture nostalgia on large canvases. A commissioned muralist with outdoor works across Swindon, he has shown in solo and group exhibitions in Swindon, London, Berlin and Brussels, including Swindon Museum and Art Gallery and The Crypt Gallery, London. slart.me
Quotes you may use
“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 dictated for Studio BRUT, July 2026
“Being an artist is hard enough when you’ve had the training. When you’re self-taught, it’s harder still: you can spend years feeling like you’re not a legitimate artist at all. Studio BRUT is here to give a voice to the unheard, the outsiders.”
SLART, co-founder
“What matters about making Art is the doing not the qualification. Everything you make is a journey. From the moment you have an idea, from the moment a pen touches the paper, you are off on an adventure. What materials do I use, what techniques can I learn to make this happen, who can help me? It is not always easy, but learn to trust your instincts. This is the stuff of making art.” Susan Aldworth, artist, in a message of support to Studio BRUT, July 2026
“We’re really excited to see BRUT getting established in Arclite. Not only does it mean a new visual art collective in West Swindon, their presence allows us to make the rest of our unit at Arclite available for other artists and creatives for events, workshops and exhibitions. Arts and culture in Swindon has been enjoying a renaissance in recent years, and this is another step on our journey.”
Dr Roderick Hebden, Director, Swindon Culture Collective
What is outsider art?
Art Brut, literally “raw art”, was coined by the French painter Jean Dubuffet in the 1940s to describe work made by self-taught artists outside the official art world: art driven by inner necessity rather than training, trends or the market. In English it became known as outsider art. BRUT takes its name from that tradition, and gives it a simpler reading: Bold Raw Untrained Talent.
From the opening night
Studio BRUT opened on 15 August 2026. A few images from the night, free for press use with credit to the photographer, Gideon Liddiard. Higher-resolution versions are in the press kit zip above, or email us.
Images and usage
The press kit zip contains building and studio photography, founder portraits and Studio BRUT logos. All images are cleared for editorial use with credit “Studio BRUT”. Higher resolution files, specific artworks or fresh photography are available on request: hello@studiobrut.art.
Press contact
Harrie Dearing and SLART, co-founders
Email: hello@studiobrut.art
Web: studiobrut.art
Instagram: @studiobrut.art
Studio: Arclite House, Century Road, Peatmoor, Swindon SN5 5YN