Rent Free Studios: A Model for Artistic Infrastructure
In my role as member of the studio collective H11 in Copenhagen, I organised a public event in collaboration with UKK’s Art and Economics Working Group, that presented the economic model of H11. The event was titled Rent Free Studios: A Model for Artistic Infrastructure, and featured Scott William Raby (former UKK chair), Lawrence Ebelle (UKK chair), and Morten Poulsen (H11 co-founder).
In Rent Free Studios: A Model for Artistic Infrastructure, UKK and H11 unfolded the process that led to the implementation of the studio’s new economic agreement, hosted a discussion on its broader implications, and invited for a guided tour of H11’s premises. The event was inspired by H11’s unique collaboration with Copenhagen Municipality. In late 2024, they joined to create a new artistic infrastructure consisting of 15 rent free studios, public programming, and a subsidized annual budget for the H11 association.
This agreement comes at an important time for the Danish art sector. Visual artists are statistically one of the poorest economic groups in Denmark (Bille, 2018), and many artists don’t have access to the infrastructural support they need. A 2021 report revealed as many as 3 out of 4 artists are considering leaving Copenhagen due to high costs. Despite these challenges, new data also suggests the overall economic output of art and culture in Denmark is becoming increasingly significant (now exceeding that of the Danish agricultural sector). Research also shows art produces many socio-cultural, wellness, and democratic values across broader society.
As such, the rent free, subsidized studio model that H11 and Copenhagen Municipality have negotiated is significant as it works to alleviate artists’ economic burden while providing greater access to necessary infrastructure. UKK has been highlighting artists’ infrastructural and spatial needs for many years as well as promoting solutions that address the structural precarity artists face. In this event UKK and H11 ask important questions: how did this model come about and how can it continue? How can it be further expanded in Copenhagen as well as other municipalities? How can municipally subsidized artistic infrastructure have a broader impact as part of “right to the city” and commoning practices across the built environment?
The event took place at Ungdommens Demokratihus in Copenhagen on December 1st, 2025.
The event was generously supported by H11 and Copenhagen Municipality.
