Our New Home In N17

Where artists go, Sarabande follows.

Sarabande has always followed the artists and, increasingly, the trail led north to Tottenham where creative communities are thriving and studio space hasn't yet become entirely mythical. Almost a decade ago, Sarabande began the very first conversations around a second home for the Foundation in Haringey. As the landlords Tottenham Hotspur began their development of the Paxton area, Sarabande saw an opportunity to support the growing creative community already making Tottenham its home. Whilst the overall development was in discussion and there were many grand buildings on the road, it was the last remaining extraordinary Grade II* listed buildings on Tottenham High Road that came into our grasp. And what a find they were.

After extensive consultation and a successful application to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Sarabande and Tottenham Hotspur secured a substantial grant to rescue and reimagine the site as a permanent creative home.

Within the remarkable ensemble of Georgian buildings lining Tottenham High Road, Sarabande's new home dates back to 1715-1725 and stands as the earliest surviving house within the terrace. Widely regarded as some of the finest Queen Anne buildings in London, the Grade II* listed properties have spent the past three centuries shapeshifting alongside the city around them.

Before Sarabande got the keys, the buildings had already lived many lives. hey began as a country residence for Sir Hugh Smithson - later Duke of Northumberland and local MP - back when Tottenham was fields, gardens and open countryside. Over the centuries, the houses adapted again and again, shifting between residential and commercial use as London expanded around them.

The buildings known as Holly House and Prudhoe House have opened their doors once again; this time to fourteen new studios for artists and designers, doubling Sarabande's provision of subsidised space for fearless creatives. Aside from the studios, the building also houses a 60-square-metre public gallery and event space for Sarabande to continue to deliver its pioneering public programme, a permanent home for House of Bandits Gallery, and tucked into the former coach house, House of Bandits Café.

The Launch

The 2nd of July saw the launch of the new building, featuring a commissioned performance by Victoria Ruiz and a live mural by Siphiwe-Nokukhayna Mnguni, created throughout the day to celebrate the foundation's close-knit community of artists, the exchange of ideas across disciplines, and the craftsmanship creativity, and care, now embedded within the new space.