A Home for Artists is our campaign to raise the £7M we need to purchase and renovate our London home and develop our innovative creative programmes to support international practitioners and inspire young UK-based artists.
Delfina Foundation and our predecessor organisation, Delfina Studios, were founded by visionary philanthropist Delfina Entrecanales. Across our history the two spaces have provided over 1,000 artists with space and time to make art, and our exhibitions and public programmes have reached hundreds of thousands of people in the UK and internationally.
Below read more about our campaign or jump to How to Support.
A GLOBAL CATALYST
We have grown to become the largest international artist residency programme in the UK, a global creative and philanthropic community, and a place where audiences can encounter new artistic perspectives. So much of the work of an artist residency is invisible, but without Delfina, museums, galleries and audiences in the UK and around the world would not benefit from some of the most exciting art being made today.
Delfina plays an essential role in the arts eco-system as:
- An Incubator for bold artistic research, experimentation, and development.
- A Home that offers care, focus, and creative freedom in an intimate and dynamic setting.
- A Platform where new perspectives meet public audiences through exhibitions and events.
- A Global Community of artists, curators, and philanthropists united by shared values.
SECURING A FUTURE FOR ARTISTS
At a time when cultural mobility and conversations across borders are under threat, Delfina Foundation stands as a beacon, promoting artistic exchange, fostering cross-cultural dialogue, and shaping the creative changemakers of tomorrow.
We are the largest international artist residency programme in the UK – a living network of artists and thinkers from over 95 countries, nurtured across four decades. Our home has championed 500 global voices over the last two decades — but it now hangs in the balance.
To guarantee the future of this network and this vision, we need your help.
A PIVOTAL MOMENT
Following the death of our founder, the home that she created for artists and thinkers faced an uncertain future.
In 2023, her son and one of our trustees, Charles Wansbrough, provided a £5.4 million low-interest loan to secure the building and a £600,000 donation to launch our capital campaign.
We explored alternatives, including relocating, but a new property would equally require investment, special planning permission, and refurbishment, while disrupting our programmes. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure a permanent home for Delfina: a building already designed for our unique model and available to us at below market value.
THE BUILDING IS CURRENTLY SAFEGUARDED ONLY THROUGH JANUARY 2028.
Otherwise, we risk losing the home that enables Delfina’s residency programme, where ideas grow, connections are made, and careers are launched.
TURNING SPACE INTO IMPACT
This campaign goes beyond a building – it is an investment in artists, ideas, and the world they help us to imagine, to change, and to build. With your support, we will:
- Enable 600 more residencies for artists, curators, and thinkers by 2035
- Create a greener, renovated building fit for the next generation
- Launch an Alumni Programme to engage our global network of nearly 1,000 artists and thinkers
- Introduce a new thematic strand, connecting artists, curators, makers, and craftspeople
- Establish a Talent Programme for young people in London inspiring their future in the arts
- Grow our Strategic Consultancy, helping institutions and foundations worldwide to flourish while sustaining our work
A CALL TO ACTION
Though largely behind the scenes, residencies are a vital part of the arts ecosystem, shaping the art we see in museums, galleries, and biennales around the world. Delfina Foundation has quietly powered these creative journeys for decades.
Now, we invite you to join a Giving Circle to continue making a home for the artists who mould our cultural landscape.
Our Giving Circles recognise patrons who step forward at this critical moment to contribute to the next chapter of the Delfina story.